The Vampire Diaries is an American-Supernatural fantasy horror/drama television series developed by Kevin Williamson and Julie Plec, which is based on the novels created by L. J. Smith. The series started off with 17-year old Elena Gilbert (Nina Dobrev), who falls in love with a centuries old vampire named Stefan Salvatore (Paul Wesley) and quite possibly may develop feelings for his brother Damon Salvatore (Ian Somerhalder), also a vampire. The series also focuses on the lives of Elena's friends and other inhabitants of the fictional town of Mystic Falls, Virginia. The series is a mix of teen drama and the supernatural. The seasons are split up into arcs. The first arc has 4 seasons, and the second arc is planned to have another 4.
When The Vampire Diaries premiered on The CW Television Network on September 10, 2009, it attracted the largest audience of any series since the network began in 2006. Due to strong ratings, the series was given a full, 22-episode first season on October 21, 2009. The show's first season finale aired on May 13, 2010.
On February 16, 2010, The CW announced a renewal for a second season of the show that began airing on September 9, 2010. The show's season finale aired May 12, 2011. Then CW announced a thrid season on April 26, 2011, which began airing on September 15, 2011 and the finale aired on May 10, 2012. On May 3, 2012, CW announced that Arc 1's final season will occur. The first episode aired on October 11, 2012 and the finale aired on May 16, 2013.
On Febuary 20, 2013, CW announced that Arc 2 has been renewed, and will atleast have another 4 seasons. Also on that date season 1 arc 2 (season 5) will happen. The premiere date of the show is currently unknown.
Main Cast
Current
- Nina Dobrev as Elena Gilbert
- Ian Somerhalder as Damon Salvatore
- Joseph Morgan as Niklaus Mikaelson (Season 2;Reccuring Cast;Season 3;Main Cast;Season 4;Main Cast;Season 5;Main Cast)
- Kat Graham as Bonnie Bennett
- Candice Accola as Caroline Forbes
- Daniel Gillies as Elijah Mikaelson (Season 2;Reccuring Cast;Season 3;Reccuring Cast;Season 4;Reccuring Cast;Season 5;Main Cast)
- Claire Holt as Rebekah Mikaelson (Season 3;Reccuring Cast;Season 4;Reccuring Cast;Season 5;Reccuring Cast)
- Charles Michael Davis as Marcel (Season 4;Guest Cast;Season 5;Main Cast)
- Shay Mitchell as Sophia Mikaelson
- Matt Dalas as Thomas Latch
Former
- Kayla Ewell as Vicki Donovan (Season 1;Main Cast;Season 2;Guest Cast;Season 3;Reccuring Cast)
- Sara Canninng as Jenna Sommers (Season 1;Main Cast;Season 2;Main Cast;Season 3;Guest Cast)
- Matt Davis as Alaric Saltzman (Season 1;Reccuring Cast;Season 2;Main Cast;Season 3;Main Cast;Season 4 Guest Cast)
- Steven R. Mcqueen as Jeremy Gilbert (Season 1;Main Cast;Season 2;Main Cast;Season 3;Main Cast;Season 4;Main Cast)
- Nina Dobrev as Katherine Pierce (Season 1;Reccuring Cast;Season 2;Main Cast;Season 3;Reccuring Cast;Season 4;Reccuring Cast;Season 5;Reccuring Cast)
- Paul Wesley as Stefan Salvatore (Season 1;Main Cast;Season 2;Main Cast;Season 3;Main Cast;Season 4;Main Cast;Season 5;Reccuring Cast)
- Michael Trevino as Tyler Lockwood (Season 1;Main Cast;Season 2;Main Cast;Season 3;Main Cast;Season 4;Main Cast)
- Zach Zoreig as Matt Donovan (Season 1;Main Cast;Season 2;Main Cast;Season 3;Main Cast;Season 4;Main Cast)
Episodes
Arc 1
Season 1
- Pilot
- The Night of the Comet
- Friday Night Bites
- Family Ties
- You're Undead to Me
- Lost Girls
- Haunted
- 162 Candles
- History Repeating
- The Turning Point
- Bloodlines
- Unpleasantville
- Children of the Damned
- Fool Me Once
- A Few Good Men
- There Goes The Neighborhood
- Let the Right One In
- Under Control
- Miss Mystic Falls
- Blood Brothers
- Isobel
- Founders Day
Season 2
- The Return
- Brave New World
- Bad Moon Rising
- Memory Lane
- Kill or be Killed
- Plan B
- Maquerade
- Rose
- Katerina
- The Sacrifice
- By the Light of the Moon
- The Descent
- Daddy Issues
- Crying Wolf
- The Dinner Party
- The House Guest
- Know Thy Enemy
- The Last Dance
- Klaus
- The Last Day
- The Sun Also Rises
- As I Lay Dying
Season 3
- The Birthday
- The Hybrid
- The End of the Affair
- Disturbing Behaviour
- The Reckoning
- Smells like Teen Spirit
- Ghost World
- Ordinary People
- Homecoming
- The New Deal
- Our Town
- The Ties that Bind
- Bringing out the Dead
- Dangerous Liaisons
- All My Children
- 1912
- Break On Through
- The Murder of One
- Heart of Darkness
- Do Not go Gentle
- Before Sunset
- The Departed
Season 4
- Growing Pains
- Memorial
- The Rager
- The Five
- The Killer
- We all Go a Little Mad Sometimes
- My Brothers Keeper
- We'll Always Have Bourbon Street
- O Come, All Ye Faithful
- After School Special
- Catch Me if You Can
- A View to Kill
- Into the Wild
- Down the Rabbit Hole
- Turn it Off
- No Humanity Left
- Prom
- Desire to Kill
- I Wish, I Wish
- The Orginals
- Human Again
- Being Missed
- Graduation
Arc 2
Season 1 (Season 5)
- Deal or No Deal
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Production
Initially Kevin Williamson had little interest in developing the series, finding the premise too similar to other vampire tales. However, at Julie Plec's urging, he began to read the novels and 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 greenlit the pilot for The Vampire Diaries with Williamson and Julie Plec set as the head writers and executive producers. On May 19, 2009, the series was officially ordered for the 2009–2010 season.
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,[23] which premiered on September 9, 2010.On April 26, 2011, The CW renewed the show for a third season.On April 2,2012 the series was renewed for 4th season with 23 episodes. President of The CW Mark Pedowitz said in an interview at the summer TCA's that The Vampire Diaries didn't receive an extra episode order [for third season] at the request of Kevin Williamson. "Kevin Williamson felt to do the best show possible he would rather do 22. I'd rather have a great 22 than a good 24 if Kevin couldn't do it," he explained.
Filming Locations
The pilot episode was filmed in Vancouver, British Columbia, but the rest of the episodes have been filmed in Covington, Georgia (which doubles as the fictional small town of Mystic Falls, Virginia) and various other communities around Greater Atlanta, to take advantage of local tax incentives.
Critical Reception
Metacritic gave the show a score of 50/100 based on 22 critical reviews, indicating mixed to average response. Its premiere on September 10, 2009 gave The CW its biggest series premiere scoring 4.9 million viewers. Adding in DVR numbers, the ratings for the premiere swelled to an official 5.7 million viewers. The first season had an average rating of 3.66 million viewers.
Many TV critics felt the series improved with each episode. Sarah Hughes of The Independent says The Vampire Diaries turns into "a well-crafted, interestingly developed series", despite a poor opening episode. The New York Post 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 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 gave the series an honorable mention on his list of the top TV shows of 2009. The show's second season opened to universal acclaim from professional television critics as it received a 78/100 score on Metacritic. As the series progressed and developed onto 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 and Caroline Forbes who is played by Candice Accola. The third season finale, The Departed, opened to generally positive reviews. Diana Steenbergen of IGN praised the episode and the writers for clearing up a couple story lines and making all of them come to a head. She also praised Dobrev's performance in this episode, addressing her behaviour as another reason the final revelation from Meredith was more shocking and believable. Similarly, Mandi Bierly of Entertainment Weekly review praised the writer's skills in creating the more unexpected final twist. Several reviewers also addressed the dynamic of the show may change now with the character of Elena being transitioned. Keshaunta Moton of Poptimal refers to the upcoming changes as "huge" and notes the change as something that'll affect her relationship with other characters. Other reviewers, like Matt Roush of SeattlePi and Ben Lee of Digital Spy refer to the finale as a "game-changer" and one to set up a completely new storyline for the fourth season.
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