3. NINA DOBREV DEPARTURE
On 6 April, 2015, TVD experienced a major blow when Nina Dobrev confirmed the reports of her leaving the show. Everyone was surprised and shocked. As Nina Dobrev was the titular character of the show. Her departure forced the writers and creators to completely change the direction of the show. They cleverly placed her character in a ‘magical coma’ which allowed the possibility of her return in the future. Nina would return to do a voice over in Season 7 finale episode. And she made her final appearance in Season 8 finale ‘I Was Feeling Epic’ where she played her iconic roles of Katherine and Elena for one last time. The departure of Nina also played a major role in the TVD finale ending. Had she not left the show after season 6 then the writers would have tried making the love triangle relevant again, but her departure sealed her character’s fate with Damon Salvatore.
2. THE END?
In March 2016, CW ordered the Vampire Diaries for one final season consisting of 16 episodes. The reason why the final season didn’t have the usual 22 episodes is because Kevin Williamson and Julie Plec wanted to give the best conclusion to the story. Many people mistakenly say that TVD was cancelled, it was never cancelled. With the departure of Nina AKA Elena, the ratings began dropping. The writers also didn’t have much storylines so they kept switching the focus from one character to the other. Therefore Plec and team decided to conclude the show before the Network pulls the plug. The final season still averaged 1.71 million viewers which was higher than its Season 6 ratings. Similarly, the Originals aired its final season in 2018, ending just a year later. The ratings and lack of original storylines were the reason why Plec and team also concluded the Originals.
1. LEGACIES, CANCELLATION & FUTURE
Legacies as the name suggests is the future of the Vampire Diaries franchise. It is the spin-off of the Originals which is set in the TVD Universe and it started airing in October 2018. The show revolves around Hope Mikaelson and features several characters from TVD & The Originals. Recently, CW cancelled a number of shows and Legacies is also a part of it. This news surprised many fans who are left wondering why Legacies is ending after its four-year run. According to a news report on SR, the decision to cancel Legacies was a financial one. As CW will be taken in a new direction by its parent company where the focus will be more on streaming. Even though Legacies will end after a couple of episodes, but the CW chairperson Mark Pedowitz has assured the fans that Legacies will have a proper and perfect conclusion. Legacies also became the first show in the TVD franchise to be cancelled by the Network. Now the biggest question is if there will be another spin-off or is this the end for the TVD? Can TVD be rebooted or another spin-off be in the works in the near future? What do you guys think?