The Vampire Diaries is a supernatural drama television series developed by Kevin Williamson and Julie Plec, loosely based on the book series of the same name written by L. J. Smith. The series premiered on The CW Television Network on September 10, 2009, and has just finished its third season, which premiered on September 15, 2011.^[1] The series takes place in Mystic Falls, Virginia, a fictional small town haunted by supernatural beings. The main focus of the series is the love triangle between the protagonist Elena Gilbert (Nina Dobrev) and vampire-brothers Stefan (Paul Wesley) and Damon Salvatore (Ian Somerhalder). As the narrative develops in the course of the series, the focal point shifts on the mysterious past of the town involving Elena's malevolent doppelgänger Katherine Pierce (Katerina Petrova), and the family of Original Vampires, all of which have an evil agenda of their own.

The pilot episode attracted the largest audience of any series premiere since the network began in 2006.^[2] During its course it maintained admirable ratings for a show that airs on a relatively new, small and not so famous network. The first season averaged 3.60 million viewers.^[3] The show initially received average reviews, but critics agreed that the series improved over the course of the season; the second season premiered to generally favorable reviews. The show has received numerous award nominations, winning a People's Choice Award and many Teen Choice Awards. On April 26, 2011, The CW renewed the series for a third season which began on September 15, 2011.^[4]

On May 3, 2012, The CW renewed the series for a fourth season.^[5]

Series overview[link]

The series follows the life of Elena Gilbert (Nina Dobrev) a 17 year-old girl, who falls for a 162-year-old vampire named Stefan Salvatore (Paul Wesley).Their relationship becomes increasingly complicated as Stefan's vicious and malevolent older brother Damon Salvatore (Ian Somerhalder) returns with a plan to wreak havoc on the town and a revenge against his younger brother. Both brothers begin to show affection towards Elena, mainly because of her resemblance to their past love Katherine Pierce. It is revealed that Elena is a descendant of Katherine, who eventually returns with plans against the trio.

The series is set in the fictional town of Mystic Falls, Virginia, a town charged with supernatural history since its settlement of migrants from New England in the late 17th century. Other story lines revolve around the other inhabitants of the town, most notably Elena's younger brother Jeremy Gilbert (Steven R. McQueen), her best friend Bonnie Bennett (Katerina Graham), their mutual friends, Caroline Forbes (Candice Accola), Tyler Lockwood (Michael Trevino) and Matt Donovan (Zach Roerig). The town's politics are orchestrated by descendants of the original founding families, all comprising a "Founders' Council". Some of the founding families of Mystic Falls include the Salvatores, the Gilberts, the Fells, the Forbes and the Lockwoods. They guard the town mainly from vampires, although there are other supernatural threats such as werewolves, witches and ghosts.

Cast[link]

Although the show is based on the books of the same name, many of the characters are changed, although the main story lines from the original books are maintained. Beginning in season one, ten characters received star billing, with one being written out and another being promoted.

Nina Dobrev portrays Elena Gilbert, the main protagonist, as well as Katherine Pierce, also known as Katerina Petrova, one of the main antagonists.^[6] Paul Wesley portrays Stefan Salvatore,^[7] a good-hearted and affectionate vampire, and the complete opposite of his older brother Damon Salvatore portrayed by Ian Somerhalder,^[8] the malevolent vampire brother who, in the beginning, serves as the show's anti-hero; however he shows a kinder, more caring side as the series progresses. Later in the series, Stefan reverts to his old ways as a Ripper and his role becomes more antagonistic.

Other cast members include Steven R. McQueen, who portrays Jeremy Gilbert,^[9] Elena's younger brother, later revealed to be her biological cousin, with Sara Canning acting as Jeremy and Elena's aunt and legal guardian, Jenna Sommers who is killed at the end of the second season after being turned into a vampire.^[10] Katerina Graham portrays Bonnie Bennett, Elena's best friend, who is also a witch.^[11] Candice Accola portrays Caroline Forbes,^[12] Elena's insecure friend and occasional rival, who becomes a vampire in the second season. Zach Roerig portrays Matt Donovan,^[13] Elena's childhood friend and ex-boyfriend, who later becomes romantically involved with Caroline. Michael Trevino portrays Tyler Lockwood,^[14] a werewolf, Jeremy's rival, Matt's best friend and son of the mayor of Mystic Falls; male members of his family have been shown to carry a lycanthropic trait. Kayla Ewell portrayed Vicki Donovan,^[15] Matt's troubled older sister and girlfriend of Tyler and then Jeremy. She was written out of the show in the seventh episode of the first season, after being turned into a vampire by Damon and killed by Stefan. Soon afterwards Matthew Davis joined the cast as Alaric Saltzman,^[16] a history teacher, vampire hunter, and love interest for Jenna. Joseph Morgan joins the main cast in season three, after being a guest star in season two, as Original Vampire Klaus, one of the main antagonists of the second season, and the main antagonist of the third season.

Production[link]

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."^[17] Williamson has stated the town's story will be the main focus of the series, rather than high school.^[18]

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 and executive producers.^[19] On May 19, 2009, the series was officially ordered for the 2009–2010 season.^[20]

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,^[21] 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.^[22]

The series was given a full, 22-episode order on October 21, 2009 after strong ratings for the first half of the season.^[23]

On February 16, 2010, The CW announced that it had renewed the show for a second season,^[24] which premiered on September 9, 2010.^[25] On April 26, 2011, The CW renewed the show for a third season.^[4] The third season premiered on September 15, 2011.^[26]

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 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.^[27]

Reception[link]

Critical reception[link]

The Vampire Diaries initially received mixed reviews. Metacritic gave the show a Metascore of 50 based on 22 critical reviews, indicating mixed to average reviews.^[28] Entertainment Weekly 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."^[29] Linda Stasi of the New York Post 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."^[30] Conversely, San Francisco Chronicle'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 would "return en masse to eat the cast of Vampire Diaries, plus any remaining scripts."^[31]

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.^[17] 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.^[32] 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."^[33] Mike Hale of The New York Times gave the series an honorable mention on his list of the top TV shows of 2009.^[34]

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. Ian Somerhalder has been praised with critical acclaim for his role as Damon Salvatore.

U.S. Nielsen Ratings[link]

The series premiere on September 10, 2009 gave The CW its biggest series premiere scoring 4.91 million viewers.^[35] Adding in DVR numbers, the ratings for the premiere swelled to an official 5.7 million viewers.^[36] The following is a table for the seasonal rankings, based on average total estimated viewers per episode, of The Vampire Diaries on The CW. "Rank" refers to how The Vampire Diaries rated compared to the other television series which aired during prime time hours.

Accolades[link]

"The Vampire Diaries" won 7 Teen Choice Awards in 2010 including: Choice TV Show – Fantasy/Sci-Fi, Choice TV Actor – Fantasy/Sci-Fi (Paul Wesley), Choice TV Actress – Fantasy/Sci-Fi (Nina Dobrev), Choice TV Villain (Ian Somerhalder), Choice TV Breakout Show, Choice TV Female Breakout Star (Nina Dobrev) and Choice TV Male Breakout Star (Paul Wesley).

Other nominations were Choice Male Hottie (Ian Somerhalder) and Choice Scene Stealer (Katerina Graham).^[46] The show won an award for Favorite New TV Drama at the 2010 People's Choice Awards and received a nomination for Favorite Sci-Fi/Fantasy Show.^[47] It was also nominated for a Saturn Award for Best Network TV Series.^[48] On November 9, 2010, it received nominations for Favourite Sci-Fi/Fantasy Show and Favourite TV Drama as well as a nomination for Ian Somerhalder in the TV Drama Actor category at the 2011 People's Choice Awards.

In 2011, "The Vampire Diaries" was nominated for 12 Teen Choice Awards including: Choice TV Show – Fantasy/Sci-Fi, Choice TV Actor – Fantasy/Sci-Fi (Paul Wesley), Choice TV Actor – Fantasy/Sci-Fi (Ian Somerhalder), Choice TV Actress – Fantasy/Sci-Fi (Nina Dobrev), Choice TV Villain (Joseph Morgan), Scene Stealer Female (Katerina Graham), Scene Stealer Male (Michael Trevino), Female hottie (Nina Dobrev), Male hottie (Ian Somerhalder) and Vampire (Nina Dobrev, Ian Somerhalder and Paul Wesley).^[49]

At the 2012 People's Choice Awards, the show gained four nominations: Best TV Drama, Best Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Drama Actor for Ian Somerhalder and Drama Actress for Nina Dobrev. While the show and Ian Somerhalder lost out (to Supernatural and Nathan Fillion, respectively), Nina Dobrev won in her category, becoming the first write-in person ever to do so.

At the 2012 Teen Choice Awards, the show gained six nominations: Choice TV Show – Fantasy/Sci-Fi, Choice TV Actor – Fantasy/Sci-Fi (Paul Wesley), Choice TV Actress – Fantasy/Sci-Fi (Nina Dobrev), Choice TV Actor – Fantasy/Sci-Fi (Ian Somerhalder), Choice TV Actress – Fantasy/Sci-Fi (Katerina Graham) and Choice Male Hottie (Ian Somerhalder).

Home release[link]

Season one was released on DVD in Regions 1, 2 and 4 and on Blu-ray 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 of L.J. Smith's The Vampire Diaries: The Awakening.^[50] It was released on DVD in Region 2 on August 23, 2010.^[51] Following that release, Region 1 began selling DVDs on August 31, 2010,^[50] and Region 3 on September 1, 2010.^[52] In Region A, it was released on Blu-ray on August 31, 2010.^[53][54] Region B's releases varied; United Kingdom on August 23, 2010,^[55] Brazil on August, 26, 2010^[56] and Australia on September 1, 2010.^[57] The Vampire Diaries Season 2 will be available in DVD and Blu-ray on 30th August 2011.^[58] Region B's releases varied; United Kingdom on August 22, 2011,^[59] Brazil on August, 25, 2011. The Vampire Diaries: Season 3 will be available on DVD and Blu-ray in August 2012 for Regions 1, 2, and A and on September 5, 2012 for Regions 4 and B.^[60][61][62]

Spin-off[link]

Former president of entertainment at The CW, Dawn Ostroff, has mentioned a spin-off idea that could happen in a few years.^[63] A spin-off was in development for the 2011 fall line up but due to Kevin Williamson's commitment to The Secret Circle it has been put on hold indefinitely.^[64], however, The CW officially cancelled The Secret Circle on May 11, 2012.

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: The Vampire Diaries

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: The Vampire Diaries

• Official website
• The Vampire Diaries on Warner TV
• The Vampire Diaries at the Internet Movie Database
• The Vampire Diaries at TV.com

Paul Wesley
Paul Wesley in July 2011.
Born	(1982-07-23) July 23, 1982 (age 29) New Brunswick, New Jersey, U.S.
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1999–present
Spouse	Torrey DeVitto (2011–present)

Paul Wesley (Paweł Wasilewski, July 23, 1982) is an American actor best known for his roles as Stefan Salvatore in The CW TV series The Vampire Diaries and as Aaron Corbett in the ABC Family miniseries Fallen.

Early life[link]

Wesley was born in New Brunswick, New Jersey to Polish parents Agnieszka and Thomas Wasilewski, and grew up in Marlboro Township, New Jersey. He has one older sister, Monika, and two younger sisters, Julia and Leah.^[1] In addition to English, he also knows Polish, having spent four months every year in Poland until the age of 16.^[2]

Wesley attended Christian Brothers Academy in Lincroft, New Jersey and Marlboro High School for a period during his high school years. During his junior year in high school, Wesley was cast in the soap opera Guiding Light as character Max Nickerson. He transferred from Marlboro High School to Lakewood Prep School in Howell, New Jersey because the school was able to accommodate his acting schedule.^[1][3][4] He graduated from there in 2000 and then started college at Rutgers University in New Jersey but left after one semester with his parents' support when more roles were offered to him, and he realized he could make a career out of acting.^[1][5]!

Career[link]

Paul Wesley, Nina Dobrev & Ian Somerhalder.

In 2005, he began to credit himself as Paul Wesley. When asked why he changed his professional name to Paul Wesley, he replied, "My birthname is too hard to pronounce! I asked my family's permission to change it, and it really helped my career."^[6]

He has had a number of roles on shows such as 24, 8 Simple Rules, American Dreams, Army Wives, Cane, Everwood, Guiding Light, Smallville, The O.C. and Wolf Lake. He also starred opposite Amber Tamblyn in CBS' The Russell Girl and had the lead role in Fallen miniseries. He was listed "Sexiest & Hottest Men of 2011" in the Glamour Magazine UK.

He also had a minor role in Roll Bounce starring Bow Wow's. Wesley is currently starring as vampire Stefan Salvatore in The Vampire Diaries which premiered September 2009 on The CW. In the series, he plays a younger brother to Damon Salvatore (played by Ian Somerhalder) as well as the love interest of a mortal 17 year old girl named Elena Gilbert (played by Nina Dobrev). His wife, Torrey Devitto, currently works alongside him in The Vampire Diaries as the Doctor of Mystic Falls. In May 2011, he joined the cast of The Baytown Disco.^[7]

Personal life[link]

Wesley and DeVitto in 2008.

Wesley met and began dating actress Torrey DeVitto in 2007 when they acted together in Killer Movie. They married in a private ceremony in New York City in April 2011.^[8]

He enjoys playing ice hockey and snowboarding.^[9][10] Wesley has also expressed an interest in directing and writing.^[11]

Filmography[link]

Awards[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Paul Wesley at the Internet Movie Database

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Paul Wesley

Candice Accola
Candice Accola at the San Diego Comic-Con International in July 2011.
Born	Candice Accola (1987-05-13) May 13, 1987 (age 25) Houston, Texas, U.S.A.
Occupation	Actress, singer, songwriter
Years active	2007–present
Website
www.twitter.com/candiceaccola

Candice Accola (born May 13, 1987) is an American actress and singer, best known for her role as Caroline Forbes on The Vampire Diaries.

Early Life[link]

Accola was born in Houston, Texas but she grew up in Edgewood and attended Lake Highland Preparatory School.^[1] Her father, Kevin, is a cardiothoracic surgeon^[2] and her mother, Carolyn, was formerly an environmental engineer before becoming a homemaker. Both her parents are active members of the local Republican political party.^[3][4] She has one younger brother.^[1][5]

Personal life[link]

She is, together with her The Vampire Diaries co-stars Michael Trevino and Ian Somerhalder, one of many supporters of the It Gets Better Project, a project that has made it a goal to prevent suicide among LGBT youth,^[6] associated with The Trevor Project.^[7]

Music career[link]

As an accomplished singer and songwriter since the age of 14, Candice Accola achieved success in her music career after being signed to a record deal at the age of 16. Candice Accola's music has garnered international success, and she continues to record and write her own music. Her debut album came out in December 2006 and got great success in Japan.

Filmography[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Candice Accola

• Candice Accola at the Internet Movie Database

Nina Dobrev
Dobrev at PaleyFest 2010's The Vampire Diaries night at the Saban Theatre in 2010
Born	Nina Constantinova Dobreva[1] (1989-01-09) January 9, 1989 (age 23)[1] Sofia, Bulgaria
Nationality	Bulgarian-Canadian
Occupation	Actress, model
Years active	2006–present

Nina Dobrev (born Nina Constantinova Dobreva; January 9, 1989)^[1] is a Bulgarian-born Canadian actress and model. She played the role of Mia Jones, the single teenage mother, on Degrassi: The Next Generation, from the show's sixth to ninth season. She currently stars as Elena Gilbert and Katherine Pierce on The CW television teen drama, The Vampire Diaries.

Personal life[link]

Dobrev at the 2008 Toronto Film Festival

Nina Dobrev was born in Sofia, Bulgaria, and moved to Canada at the age of two, where she was raised in Toronto, Ontario. She speaks fluent French, English, and Bulgarian. She has an older brother, Alexander; her father is a computer specialist and her mother is an artist.^[1]

Dobrev attended J. B. Tyrrell Sr. Public School, where she started ballet and jazz classes, and competed in rhythmic gymnastic.^[1] Then, she attended and Wexford Collegiate School for the Arts in Scarborough, Ontario and Ryerson University in Toronto, majoring in sociology. She left in 2008 to pursue her acting career.^[2]

While working on the show, she began dating her Vampire Diaries co-star Ian Somerhalder.^[3][4]

Career[link]

Modeling jobs led to commercials, which then turned into film auditions. Shortly thereafter, she booked roles in feature films, including Fugitive Pieces, Away from Her, Never Cry Werewolf, and the television series Degrassi: The Next Generation. She starred in a number of Lifetime original movies. She also was in an MTV movie called The American Mall on CTV. She is currently starring in The CW's drama The Vampire Diaries, playing the dual role of Katherine Pierce, a vampire loved by two human brothers during the American Civil War, and Katherine's doppelgänger Elena Gilbert, a human who is caught between the same two brothers, now vampires, Damon and Stefan Salvatore.^[5]

She also had a minor role in the erotic thriller Chloe, theatrically released by Sony Pictures Classics on March 26, 2010.^[6] The film had enjoyed commercial success and became director Atom Egoyan's biggest moneymaker ever.^[7]

In April 2011, she was cast as Candace in the film adaptation of The Perks of Being a Wallflower, alongside Logan Lerman, Emma Watson and Paul Rudd.^[8] Shooting began in May of that year in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and she completed her scenes on June 27, 2011.^[9]

Philanthropy[link]

In September 2011, Dobrev co-hosted We Day alongside Joe Jonas.^[10] We Day is organized by Free the Children. Dobrev also designed a T-Shirt^[11] with Me to We Style, which gives 50% of its profits to Free the Children.^[12]

Filmography[link]

Dobrev at the 2011 San Diego Comic-Con.

Accolades[link]

Dobrev at the 2011 MuchMusic Video Awards

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Nina Dobrev

• Nina Dobrev at the Internet Movie Database
• Nina Dobrev on Twitter