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''The Vampire Diaries'' is an American
supernatural Supernatural phenomena or entities are those beyond the Scientific law, laws of nature. The term is derived from Medieval Latin , from Latin 'above, beyond, outside of' + 'nature'. Although the corollary term "nature" has had multiple meanin ...
teen drama In film and television show, television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or docudrama, semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humour, humorous in tone. The drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional te ...
television series developed by Kevin Williamson and
Julie Plec Julie Plec (born May 26, 1972) is an American television producer, writer and director, known for her work on The CW television series ''The Vampire Diaries'' (2009–2017) which she co-created with Kevin Williamson, and its spin-offs '' The Or ...
, based on the book series of the same name written by L. J. Smith. The series premiered on
the CW The CW Network, LLC (commonly referred to as The CW or simply CW) is an American commercial broadcast television network which is controlled by Nexstar Media Group through a 75% ownership interest. The network's name is derived from the firs ...
on September 10, 2009, and concluded on March 10, 2017, having aired 171 episodes over eight seasons. The
pilot episode A television pilot (also known as a pilot or a pilot episode and sometimes marketed as a tele-movie) in United Kingdom and United States television, is a standalone episode of a television series that is used to sell a show to a television netwo ...
attracted the largest audience for the CW of any series premiere since the network launched in 2006; the first season averaged 3.60 million viewers. It became the most-watched series on the network before being surpassed by ''
Arrow An arrow is a fin-stabilized projectile launched by a bow. A typical arrow usually consists of a long, stiff, straight shaft with a weighty (and usually sharp and pointed) arrowhead attached to the front end, multiple fin-like stabilizers c ...
''. The show has received numerous award nominations, winning four
People's Choice Awards The People's Choice Awards is an American awards show, recognizing people in entertainment, voted online by the fans and general public. The show has been held annually since 1975, with the winners originally determined using Gallup Polls un ...
and thirty
Teen Choice Awards The Teen Choice Awards were an annual awards show that aired on the Fox television network between 1999 and 2019. The awards, based on a popularity vote that could be overridden by the producerswho reserved the right to choose the winnerscovered ...
. In April 2015, lead actress
Nina Dobrev Nikolina Kamenova Dobreva (; born January 9, 1989), known professionally as Nina Dobrev ( ), is a Canadian actress. She is known for portraying Elena Gilbert and Katherine Pierce in The CW's supernatural drama series ''The Vampire Diaries'' (20 ...
, who played Elena Gilbert, confirmed that she would be leaving the show after its sixth season. Dobrev returned to record a voice-over for the seventh-season finale and returned as a guest star in the
series finale A series finale is the final installment of an episodic entertainment series, most often a television series. It may also refer to a final theatrical sequel, the last part of a television miniseries, the last installment of a literary series, ...
. In March 2016, the CW renewed the series for an eighth season, but in July of that year announced that the eighth season, consisting of 16 episodes, would be the show's last. The concepts and characters developed in the series served to launch a media franchise that includes other television series, web series, novels and comic books. The television series '' The Originals'' (2013–2018)which also aired on the CWwas the first major entry in this collection of connected works, followed by a spin-off of ''The Originals'' entitled '' Legacies'' (2018–2022), which aired on the CW as well. ''The Vampire Diaries'' significantly influenced the supernatural teen drama genre, contributing to a surge in vampire-themed media during the late 2000s and early 2010s.


Series overview

The series is set in the fictional town of Mystic Falls,
Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...
, a town charged with supernatural history. It follows the life of Elena Gilbert, a teenage girl who has just lost both parents in a car crash, as she falls in love with a 161-year-old vampire named
Stefan Salvatore Stefan Salvatore, referred to in books as Stefano Salvatore, is a fictional character and one of the two main protagonists from L. J. Smith (author), L. J. Smith's novel series ''The Vampire Diaries (novel series), The Vampire Diaries''. He is po ...
, who she thinks is just a normal human. Their relationship becomes increasingly intricate as Stefan's mysterious older brother
Damon Salvatore Damon Salvatore is a fictional character In L. J. Smith (author), L. J. Smith's novel series ''The Vampire Diaries (novel series), The Vampire Diaries''. He is portrayed by Ian Somerhalder in the television series. Damon is one of the two main pr ...
returns to Mystic Falls with a plan to bring back their past love,
Katherine Pierce ''The Vampire Diaries'' is an American fantasy-drama Television show, television series which was first broadcast on The CW Television Network, The CW from 2009 to 2017, airing 171 episodes over 8 seasons. Kevin Williamson (screenwriter), Kevin ...
, who is Elena's
doppelgänger A doppelgänger ( ), sometimes spelled doppelgaenger or doppelganger, is a ghostly double of a living person, especially one that haunts its own fleshly counterpart. In fiction and mythology, a doppelgänger is often portrayed as a ghostly or p ...
. Although Damon initially holds a grudge against his brother for forcing him to become a vampire, he later reconciles with Stefan and falls in love with Elena, creating a love triangle among the three. Both brothers attempt to protect Elena as they face various villains and threats to their town, including Katherine. The Salvatore brothers' pasts and the town's history along with its secrets are revealed through flashbacks as the series goes on. Additional storylines revolve around the other inhabitants of the town, most notably Elena's younger brother Jeremy Gilbert and aunt Jenna Sommers, her best friends Bonnie Bennett and Caroline Forbes, their mutual friends Matt Donovan and Tyler Lockwood, Matt's older sister
Vicki Donovan ''The Vampire Diaries'' is an American fantasy-drama television series which was first broadcast on The CW from 2009 to 2017, airing 171 episodes over 8 seasons. Kevin Williamson and Julie Plec adapted the TV series from L.J. Smith's n ...
, and their history teacher and vampire hunter
Alaric Saltzman ''The Vampire Diaries'' is an American fantasy-drama television series which was first broadcast on The CW from 2009 to 2017, airing 171 episodes over 8 seasons. Kevin Williamson and Julie Plec adapted the TV series from L.J. Smith's n ...
. The town's politics are orchestrated by the Founders' council, comprising descendants of the founding families: the Fells, the Forbeses, the Lockwoods, the Gilberts, and the Salvatores. They guard the town mainly from
vampire A vampire is a mythical creature that subsists by feeding on the Vitalism, vital essence (generally in the form of blood) of the living. In European folklore, vampires are undead, undead humanoid creatures that often visited loved ones and c ...
s and other supernatural threats such as
werewolves In folklore, a werewolf (), or occasionally lycanthrope (from Ancient Greek ), is an individual who can shapeshift into a wolf, or especially in modern film, a therianthropic hybrid wolf–humanlike creature, either purposely or after bei ...
,
witches Witchcraft is the use of magic by a person called a witch. Traditionally, "witchcraft" means the use of magic to inflict supernatural harm or misfortune on others, and this remains the most common and widespread meaning. According to ''Enc ...
, hybrids (werewolf/vampire), and
ghosts In folklore, a ghost is the soul or Spirit (supernatural entity), spirit of a dead Human, person or non-human animal that is believed by some people to be able to appear to the living. In ghostlore, descriptions of ghosts vary widely, from a ...
.


Cast and characters

*
Nina Dobrev Nikolina Kamenova Dobreva (; born January 9, 1989), known professionally as Nina Dobrev ( ), is a Canadian actress. She is known for portraying Elena Gilbert and Katherine Pierce in The CW's supernatural drama series ''The Vampire Diaries'' (20 ...
as Elena Gilbert (season 1–6; guest season 8), a young orphan who falls in love with vampire Stefan Salvatore and later his brother, Damon, creating a love triangle. When Stefan turns his humanity off after being blackmailed by Klaus, Damon is given the opportunity to grow closer to Elena. This results in her being further drawn into the supernatural world and results in her struggling to survive supernatural events in the town. Elena becomes a vampire following the events of the third-season finale, but takes the cure and becomes human again in the sixth season. In the sixth-season finale, Elena's life was tied to Bonnie's in such a way that as long as Bonnie is alive, Elena will remain asleep. **Dobrev also portrays Elena's doppelgänger, Katerina Petrova, also known as
Katherine Pierce ''The Vampire Diaries'' is an American fantasy-drama Television show, television series which was first broadcast on The CW Television Network, The CW from 2009 to 2017, airing 171 episodes over 8 seasons. Kevin Williamson (screenwriter), Kevin ...
. Dobrev sporadically appeared as Katherine in subsequent seasons, with Katherine playing a significant role in the second and fifth seasons. **Dobrev also plays the progenitor of the Petrova doppelgängers and Silas's true love, Amara, during the fifth season, whom he had sought in the afterlife for two thousand years. *
Paul Wesley Paweł Tomasz Wasilewski (; July 23, 1982), better known by his stage name Paul Wesley, is an American actor and film director. He is known for starring as Stefan Salvatore in '' The Vampire Diaries'' (2009–2017) and James T. Kirk in '' Star ...
as
Stefan Salvatore Stefan Salvatore, referred to in books as Stefano Salvatore, is a fictional character and one of the two main protagonists from L. J. Smith (author), L. J. Smith's novel series ''The Vampire Diaries (novel series), The Vampire Diaries''. He is po ...
, a good-hearted and affectionate vampire and the complete opposite of his older brother, Damon Salvatore. Later in the series, Stefan reverts to his old ways as a Ripper to save Damon from a werewolf bite. His role becomes more antagonistic, after being forced to turn his humanity off. Eventually, he returns to his good-hearted and caring self and reconciles with Elena, but the relationship doesn't last long. He becomes human again in the final season and marries Caroline in the eighth season but is killed afterwards in the series finale as he sacrifices himself along with Katherine to save Mystic Falls. **Wesley also portrays his revealed doppelgänger, Silas, the world's first immortal being, in the fourth and fifth seasons. **Wesley also played another doppelgänger, Tom Avery, during the fifth season. *
Ian Somerhalder Ian Joseph Somerhalder ( ; born December 8, 1978) is an American former actor and current business owner. He is known for playing Boone Carlyle in American Broadcasting Company, ABC's science fiction adventure drama television series ''Lost (2 ...
as
Damon Salvatore Damon Salvatore is a fictional character In L. J. Smith (author), L. J. Smith's novel series ''The Vampire Diaries (novel series), The Vampire Diaries''. He is portrayed by Ian Somerhalder in the television series. Damon is one of the two main pr ...
, Stefan's malevolent elder vampire brother. He is mostly thought of as selfish and manipulative, using humans for his own gain with no regard but later on begins to display a more caring side. Throughout the series, Damon is able to repair his relationship with Stefan, and becomes best friends with Alaric and Bonnie. Though his love for Elena is initially one-sided, she begins to develop feelings for him as they work together to save Stefan after he's given in to his Ripper side. They begin dating in the fourth season, after Elena transitions into a vampire, and continue to have an on-and-off relationship until a now-human Elena is put into her deep sleep at the end of the sixth season. * Steven R. McQueen as Jeremy Gilbert (seasons 1–6; guest season 8), Elena's younger brother, actually revealed to be her biological cousin. He later becomes a member of The Five, a vampire hunting group giving him supernatural strengths. Jeremy is killed in the fourth season after Katherine throws him onto Silas, who drains his blood. He is resurrected by Bonnie Bennett, his love interest, in the fourth-season finale. In the sixth season, he leaves Mystic Falls to hunt vampires, unbeknownst to everyone other than Alaric. Jeremy returns to Mystic Falls in the final episode after Elena's curse is broken, and begins working as a teacher at the Salvatore Boarding School for the Young & Gifted that Alaric and Caroline open. *
Sara Canning Sara Canning (born July 14, 1987) is a Canadian actress. She co-starred in the CW television series ''The Vampire Diaries'' as Jenna Sommers and appeared in the 2009 feature film '' Black Field''. She starred as Dylan Weir in the Canadian televis ...
as Jenna Sommers (seasons 1–2; guest seasons 3, 5 & 8), Elena and Jeremy's aunt and legal guardian after the death of their parents. Though she is young, she strives to be a role model to Elena and Jeremy and look after them. She dates Alaric after he moves to town in the middle of the first season. Jenna was killed in season two during Klaus' hybrid ritual after being turned into a vampire. *
Kat Graham Katerina Alexandre Hartford Graham (born September 5, 1989) is an American actress, singer, dancer, and activist. She played Bonnie Bennett on The CW supernatural drama series ''The Vampire Diaries'' (2009–2017). Her film credits include '' ...
as Bonnie Bennett, Elena and Caroline's best friend and a very powerful witch. She has died numerous times but always found a way to return. She develops and controls her powers with the help of her grandmother, Sheila or "Grams", another witch in the Bennett family. She is often able to use her magic to help the group, and while she initially hates vampires, particularly Damon, she ends up warming up to them; she and Damon become best friends after being stuck in a prison world with him for four months during season six. Bonnie has lost and regained her ability to do magic multiple times throughout the show. She spent the second through fifth seasons in an on-again, off-again relationship with Elena's brother Jeremy and later became involved with Enzo. In the seventh season, Bonnie faces the challenge of having received Rayna Cruz's hunters' curse, which puts all her vampire friends at risk. In the series finale, Bonnie breaks the sleeping spell on Elena and leaves Mystic Falls to travel the world. * Candice King as Caroline Forbes, Elena and Bonnie's best friend, who used to be insecure and sometimes jealous of Elena for the attention she received, often feeling second best. After turning into a vampire in the second season, she becomes more caring and sympathetic. Neurotic but lovable, Caroline has been the love interest of many of the male characters. She initially serves as Damon's plaything in the first season, which she hates him for, but they later become friends. Afterwards, she has serious relationships with Matt, Tyler, Alaric, and Stefan. She was long the subject of Klaus's adoration, whom she sleeps with in the fifth season, too. Caroline gives birth to Alaric and Jo's twin daughters after becoming pregnant with them through a spell cast by the Gemini Coven and becomes their mother, as Jo is killed in the seventh season. She married Stefan shortly before his death in the eighth season and repaired her relationship with Damon. Caroline raises the twins with Alaric, who she views as her own; she opens the Salvatore Boarding School for the Young & Gifted with Alaric. * Zach Roerig as Matt Donovan, Vicki's younger brother and Elena's childhood friend and ex-boyfriend, who became romantically involved with Caroline in the first and second seasons. Matt and Caroline remain good friends even after breaking up during the second season. Matt wants no part in the supernatural events in his town and is later at odds with the vampires as he becomes a police officer and tries to protect the town from them. He becomes the sheriff in the eighth season and plans to run for mayor. * Kayla Ewell as
Vicki Donovan ''The Vampire Diaries'' is an American fantasy-drama television series which was first broadcast on The CW from 2009 to 2017, airing 171 episodes over 8 seasons. Kevin Williamson and Julie Plec adapted the TV series from L.J. Smith's n ...
(season 1; recurring seasons 3 & 8; guest seasons 2 & 5), Matt's drug-addicted older sister. She appears to be dating Tyler but is also interested in Jeremy. She is quite insecure about herself, being poor and an outsider. She is turned into a vampire by Damon and is killed by Stefan shortly after due to her getting out of control and attacking Elena. Following the destruction of the Other Side, the supernatural limbo where she resided after her death, Vicki was sent to Hell. * Michael Trevino as Tyler Lockwood (seasons 1–6; guest seasons 7–8), a werewolf, later turned into a hybrid by Klaus, Matt's best friend and the son of the mayor of Mystic Falls. His family carry a lycanthropic trait, being descended from an ancient werewolf clan. His father, the mayor, had the gene but did not trigger the curse. His uncle Mason was also a triggered werewolf, who was killed by Damon in the second season. Tyler was turned into the first successful hybrid by Klaus. In the fifth-season finale, he is returned to just being a human. He reactivates his werewolf gene and leaves town at the end of the sixth season. He appears in a couple of episodes of the seventh season, protecting Elena's coffin. * Matt Davis as
Alaric Saltzman ''The Vampire Diaries'' is an American fantasy-drama television series which was first broadcast on The CW from 2009 to 2017, airing 171 episodes over 8 seasons. Kevin Williamson and Julie Plec adapted the TV series from L.J. Smith's n ...
(seasons 1–3, 6–8; guest seasons 4–5), a history teacher, vampire hunter and Jenna's love interest in the first two seasons. Davis left the show at the end of season three after Alaric was killed. His character returned as a regular from the sixth season onwards, after he was resurrected in the fifth season. His vampirism is stripped away by magic, turning him into a human once again, after being saved by Josette Laughlin (
Jodi Lyn O'Keefe Jodi Lyn O'Keefe (born October 10, 1978) is an American actress, model, and fashion designer. She came to prominence as Cassidy Bridges on the television series ''Nash Bridges'' (1996–2001) and played Gretchen Morgan on ''Prison Break'' (2007†...
); the two begin dating. Jo becomes pregnant and they plan to marry, but she is murdered by her brother Malachai at their wedding. The Gemini coven, Jo's witch family, was able to transfer the babies to Caroline's womb, and she gives birth to Alaric and Jo's twin daughters - Josie and Lizzie named after their biological mother Josette and Carolines' mother Elizabeth. Caroline and Alaric move to Dallas together and begin a relationship, but end it when Caroline decides to be with Stefan after his return at the end of the seventh season. Alaric establishes the Salvatore Boarding School for the Young & Gifted with Caroline, with whom he raises the twins, as Jo watches over him from the afterlife. * Joseph Morgan as Klaus Mikaelson (seasons 3–4, recurring season 2; guest seasons 5 & 7), the Original Hybrid, who begins to build an army of new "hybrids", which are half vampire and half werewolf. During the third season, Klaus began to develop feelings for Caroline and falls in love with her. Klaus eventually moves to
New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...
where his character is the lead in the spin-off show ''The Originals''. *
Michael Malarkey Michael Karim Malarkey (born 21 June 1983) is a British-American actor and musician. He is best known for playing the role of List of The Vampire Diaries characters#Enzo St. John, Enzo St. John in the series ''The Vampire Diaries''. Early life ...
as Enzo St. John (seasons 6–8; recurring season 5), a vampire formerly under the imprisonment of the Augustine society. He was Damon Salvatore's cellmate back in the 1950s when the latter was captured by the Augustines. He and Damon revived their friendship as he searched for his lost lover, Maggie. In the fifth-season episode "Man on Fire", Enzo shut off his humanity after finding out the truth about Maggie's death. He is later killed by Stefan, having his heart ripped out. He was resurrected in the fifth-season finale and becomes Bonnie's love interest, before coming under the control of the monster in the vault at the end of the seventh season. He is killed by a humanity-less Stefan in the eighth season having his heart ripped out again. He watches over Bonnie in the afterlife.


Episodes


Production

Initially, Kevin Williamson had little interest in developing the series, as he found the premise too similar to the ''
Twilight Twilight is daylight illumination produced by diffuse sky radiation when the Sun is below the horizon as sunlight from the upper atmosphere is scattered in a way that illuminates both the Earth's lower atmosphere and also the Earth's surf ...
'' novels. However, at the urging of
Julie Plec Julie Plec (born May 26, 1972) is an American television producer, writer and director, known for her work on The CW television series ''The Vampire Diaries'' (2009–2017) which she co-created with Kevin Williamson, and its spin-offs '' The Or ...
, he began to read the books. He started to become intrigued by the story: "I began to realize that it was a story about a small town, about that town's underbelly and about what lurks under the surface." Williamson has stated the town's story will be the main focus of the series rather than high school. On February 6, 2009, ''Variety'' announced that the CW had green-lit the pilot for ''The Vampire Diaries'' with Williamson and Julie Plec set as the head writers, executive producers, and showrunners. On May 19, 2009, the series was officially ordered for the 2009–2010 season. The pilot episode was filmed in
Vancouver Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...
, British Columbia. However, the rest of the seasons have been filmed in
Covington, Georgia Covington is a city in the U.S. state of Georgia and the seat of Newton County, and is part of the Atlanta metropolitan area. As of the 2020 census, its population was 14,192. History Covington was founded by European immigrants to the Unite ...
(which doubles as the show's fictional small town of Mystic Falls,
Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...
) and various other communities around Greater Atlanta to take advantage of local tax incentives. On the morning of May 10, 2012, a fire broke out in the building on Clark Street in Covington that was used as the setting for Mystic Grill on the show. The series was given a full 22-episode order on October 21, 2009, after strong ratings for the first half of the season. On February 16, 2010, the CW announced that it had renewed the show for a second season, which premiered on September 9, 2010."The CW Network announces fall premiere dates"
. ''
The CW The CW Network, LLC (commonly referred to as The CW or simply CW) is an American commercial broadcast television network which is controlled by Nexstar Media Group through a 75% ownership interest. The network's name is derived from the firs ...
''. Retrieved August 19, 2010.
On April 26, 2011, the CW renewed the show for a third season. The third season premiered on September 15, 2011. The fourth season premiered on October 11, 2012. the CW renewed the show for a fifth season on February 11, 2013. On February 13, 2014, the CW renewed the series for a sixth season. On January 11, 2015, the CW renewed the series for a seventh season. On April 6, 2015, lead actress
Nina Dobrev Nikolina Kamenova Dobreva (; born January 9, 1989), known professionally as Nina Dobrev ( ), is a Canadian actress. She is known for portraying Elena Gilbert and Katherine Pierce in The CW's supernatural drama series ''The Vampire Diaries'' (20 ...
confirmed that she and co-star Michael Trevino (who plays Tyler Lockwood) would be leaving the show after its sixth season. Dobrev returned to record a voiceover for the seventh-season finale and returned as a guest star in the
series finale A series finale is the final installment of an episodic entertainment series, most often a television series. It may also refer to a final theatrical sequel, the last part of a television miniseries, the last installment of a literary series, ...
. Trevino appeared as a guest star in the seventh and eighth seasons. On March 11, 2016, the CW renewed the series for an eighth season, but on July 23, 2016, announced that the eighth season, consisting of 16 episodes, would be the show's last. The final season began airing on October 21, 2016, and ended March 10, 2017. CW president
Mark Pedowitz Mark Pedowitz is an American entertainment executive. From 2011 to 2022, he was the president, and then chairman and CEO of The CW, after replacing the former president of entertainment Dawn Ostroff. During his time at The CW, Pedowitz oversaw al ...
said in an interview at the summer TCA's that ''The Vampire Diaries'' didn't receive an extra episode order for the second season at the request of Williamson. Williamson felt to do the best show possible; he would rather do 22 episodes. "I'd rather have a great 22 than a good 24 if Kevin couldn't do it," he explained. The writers first met for the fifth season on April 15, 2013. Filming began on July 10, 2013, and finished on April 10, 2014. On July 23, 2016, it was announced that the show would end after a 16-episode eighth season.


Music


Reception


Critical response

Reviews for ''The Vampire Diaries'' were initially mixed but improved significantly through the course of the show.
Metacritic Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...
gave the show a score of 57 (out of 100) based on reviews from 31 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". ''
Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American online magazine, digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, ...
'' gave the pilot a B+, declaring that the show "signals a welcome return to form for writer-producer Kevin Williamson". Reviewer, Ken Tucker, ended his review by writing that "''Diaries'' promises us a season of sharp-tongued amusement." Linda Stasi of the ''
New York Post The ''New York Post'' (''NY Post'') is an American Conservatism in the United States, conservative daily Tabloid (newspaper format), tabloid newspaper published in New York City. The ''Post'' also operates three online sites: NYPost. ...
'' gave the premiere a perfect score, saying that she was "hooked after one episode". Stasi praised the pacing of the episode and the "vicious, bloody vamp action," which "starts in the opening scene and continues throughout ''The Vampire Diaries'' with such ferocity and speed that it's truly scary." Conversely, ''
San Francisco Chronicle The ''San Francisco Chronicle'' is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of Northern California. It was founded in 1865 as ''The Daily Dramatic Chronicle'' by teenage brothers Charles de Young and M. H. de Young, Michael H. ...
''s Tim Goodman, gave the episode a highly critical review, calling the series "awful". Goodman disliked the dialogue and hoped that the extras on ''
Buffy the Vampire Slayer ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer'' is an American supernatural fiction, supernatural drama television series created by writer and director Joss Whedon. The concept is based on the Buffy the Vampire Slayer (film), 1992 film, also written by Whedon, a ...
'' would "return en masse to eat the cast of ''Vampire Diaries'', plus any remaining scripts." Many TV critics felt the series improved with each episode.
Sarah Hughes Sarah Elizabeth Hughes (born May 2, 1985) is an American former competitive figure skater. She is the 2002 Olympic Champion and the 2001 World bronze medalist in ladies' singles. Personal life Hughes was born in Great Neck, New York, a subu ...
of ''
The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...
'' says ''The Vampire Diaries'' turns into "a well-crafted, interestingly developed series" despite a mediocre opening episode. The ''
New York Post The ''New York Post'' (''NY Post'') is an American Conservatism in the United States, conservative daily Tabloid (newspaper format), tabloid newspaper published in New York City. The ''Post'' also operates three online sites: NYPost. ...
'' also praised the portrayal of Elena, finding the character to be a strong-minded woman who did not allow her feelings for her boyfriend to control her. Karla Peterson of ''
The San Diego Union-Tribune ''The San Diego Union-Tribune'' is a metropolitan daily newspaper published in San Diego, California, that has run since 1868. Its name derives from a 1992 merger between the two major daily newspapers at the time, ''The San Diego Union'' and ...
'' said that "the supernatural drama is a first-class production, featuring an insanely gorgeous cast, sharp scripts, and a brooding vibe that is hard for even the most levelheaded adult to resist." Mike Hale of ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'' gave the series an honorable mention on his list of the top TV shows of 2009. The show's second season opened to favorable reviews. On
Metacritic Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...
, it has a score of 78 (out of 100) based on reviews from five critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". As the series progressed and developed into the third season, critics praised the portrayals of the main characters and the development of the female characters such as Elena Gilbert played by
Nina Dobrev Nikolina Kamenova Dobreva (; born January 9, 1989), known professionally as Nina Dobrev ( ), is a Canadian actress. She is known for portraying Elena Gilbert and Katherine Pierce in The CW's supernatural drama series ''The Vampire Diaries'' (20 ...
, Bonnie Bennett played by
Kat Graham Katerina Alexandre Hartford Graham (born September 5, 1989) is an American actress, singer, dancer, and activist. She played Bonnie Bennett on The CW supernatural drama series ''The Vampire Diaries'' (2009–2017). Her film credits include '' ...
and Caroline Forbes played by Candice King. The third-season finale, "
The Departed ''The Departed'' is a 2006 crime film, crime thriller film directed by Martin Scorsese and written by William Monahan. It is both an English-language remake of the 2002 Hong Kong film ''Infernal Affairs'' and also loosely based on the real-lif ...
", received critical acclaim. Diana Steenbergen of IGN praised the episode and the writers for clearing up a couple of storylines and making all of them come to a head. She also praised Dobrev's performance in this episode, addressing her behavior as another reason the final revelation from Meredith was more shocking and believable. Similarly, Mandi Bierly of Entertainment Weekly review praised the writers' skills in creating a more unexpected final twist.


Ratings

The series premiere of ''The Vampire Diaries'' on September 11, 2009, was the CW's biggest ever at the time, amassing 4.91 million viewers. Adding in DVR numbers, the ratings for the premiere swelled to an official 5.7 million viewers. In 2016, a ''
New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'' study of the 50 TV shows with the most Facebook Likes found that "as with several other shows that focus on the supernatural," ''The Vampire Diaries'' was "slightly more popular outside of cities. That said, the show's fandom has the smallest amount of spatial variation of all 50 shows". The following is a table for the seasonal rankings based on average total estimated viewers per episode of ''The Vampire Diaries.'' "Rank" refers to how ''The Vampire Diaries'' rated compared to the other television series, which aired during prime time hours.


Accolades


Home media releases

Season one was released on DVD in Regions 1, 2, and 4. Also, on
Blu-ray Blu-ray (Blu-ray Disc or BD) is a digital optical disc data storage format designed to supersede the DVD format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released worldwide on June 20, 2006, capable of storing several hours of high-defin ...
in Regions A and B. Both United States versions include commentary by cast and crew members on selected episodes, deleted scenes, behind-the-scenes featurettes, webisodes and a downloadable
audiobook An audiobook (or a talking book) is a recording of a book or other work being read out loud. A reading of the complete text is described as "unabridged", while readings of shorter versions are abridgements. Spoken audio has been available in sch ...
of L.J. Smith's ''The Vampire Diaries: The Awakening''. It was released on DVD in Region 2 on August 23, 2010. Following that release, Region 1 began selling DVDs on August 31, 2010, and Region 3 on September 1, 2010. In Region A, it was released on Blu-ray on August 31, 2010. Region B's releases varied; the United Kingdom on August 23, 2010, Brazil on August 26, 2010, and Australia on September 1, 2010. ''The Vampire Diaries Season 2'' will be available on DVD and Blu-ray on August 30, 2011. Region B's releases varied; the United Kingdom on August 22, 2011, Brazil on August 25, 2011. ''The Vampire Diaries: Season 3'' will be available on DVD and Blu-ray on September 11 and A and on September 5, 2012, for Regions 4 and B. ''The Vampire Diaries: Season 4'' was available on DVD and Blu-ray as of September 15, 2013. In Japan, the fourth season was released in a special collection, including bonuses not available elsewhere. Included in the collection are an ankle bracelet, promotional image cards and a booklet about the cast.


Spin-off

Former president of entertainment at the CW, Dawn Ostroff, mentioned a
spin-off Spin-off, Spin Off, Spin-Off, or Spinoff may refer to: Entertainment and media *Spinoff (media), a media work derived from an existing work *''The Spinoff'', a New Zealand current affairs magazine * ''Spin Off'' (Canadian game show), a 2013 Canad ...
idea in 2010 that she said could happen in a few years. A spin-off was in development to debut in the 2011 US fall TV season, but due to Williamson's commitment to '' The Secret Circle'', it was put on hold indefinitely. On January 11, 2013, it was announced that a back-door pilot focused on the Originals, starring Joseph Morgan as Klaus and titled '' The Originals'', would air on April 25 for a potential series pick-up for the 2013–2014 season. This second spin-off attempt was carried out by
Julie Plec Julie Plec (born May 26, 1972) is an American television producer, writer and director, known for her work on The CW television series ''The Vampire Diaries'' (2009–2017) which she co-created with Kevin Williamson, and its spin-offs '' The Or ...
with no involvement by Williamson. On April 26, 2013, the CW announced that '' The Originals'' had been ordered to the series premiere in the 2013–14 television season. ''The Originals'' premiered on October 3, 2013. ''The Originals'' is about the Mikaelson siblings, who are the original family of vampires, and their take-over of the French Quarter of New Orleans. The show also involves Hayley and Klaus's daughter, Hope. Producers reported that there would be a transition of the characters in both series.
Claire Holt Claire Rhiannon Holt (born 11 June 1988) is an Australian-American actress. She made her acting debut playing Emma Gilbert in the fantasy series '' H2O: Just Add Water'' (2006–2008), before moving to America and making her film debut in 2009 ...
made a special cameo in ''The Vampire Diaries'', in the episodes " I Know What You Did Last Summer" and " 500 Years of Solitude". Michael Trevino made a special cameo on episodes of ''The Originals'', "Bloodletting" and "The River In Reverse". Joseph Morgan,
Daniel Gillies Daniel Joshua Gillies (born March 14, 1976) is a Canadian-born New Zealand actor, film producer, director and screenwriter. He played Elijah Mikaelson on '' The Vampire Diaries'' and its spin-off, '' The Originals;'' Dr. Joel Goran on '' Saving ...
and
Claire Holt Claire Rhiannon Holt (born 11 June 1988) is an Australian-American actress. She made her acting debut playing Emma Gilbert in the fantasy series '' H2O: Just Add Water'' (2006–2008), before moving to America and making her film debut in 2009 ...
returned to ''The Vampire Diaries'' in a special cameo on the series' 100th episode " 500 Years of Solitude". Nina Dobrev also appeared in the fifth episode of ''The Originals'' second season, "Red Door", as Tatia, another doppelgänger. At the
Television Critics Association The Television Critics Association (TCA) is a group of approximately 200 American and Canadian television critics, journalists and columnists who cover television programming for newspapers, magazines and web publications. The TCA accepts appli ...
winter 2016 press tour, CW president Mark Pedowitz announced an official crossover between ''The Vampire Diaries'' and ''The Originals,'' where Stefan goes on the run and finds a haven in New Orleans where he runs into Klaus.

Tie-in material

On October 31, 2013,
DC Comics DC Comics (originally DC Comics, Inc., and also known simply as DC) is an American comic book publisher owned by DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC is an initialism for "Detective Comics", an American comic book seri ...
launched a comic book series based on the TV show.


See also

*
List of vampire television series List of television series about vampires, creatures from folklore that subsist by feeding on the vital essence (generally in the form of blood) of the living. In European folklore, vampires are undead creatures that often visited loved ones and ...
*
Vampire film Vampire films have been a staple in world cinema since the era of silent films, so much so that the depiction of vampires in popular culture is strongly based upon their depiction in films throughout the years. The most popular cinematic adaptat ...


References


External links

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