The Vampire Diaries

The Vampire Diaries is an American supernatural–fantasy horror television series developed by Kevin Williamson, based on the book series of the same name by L. J. Smith. The series follows the life of Elena Gilbert (Nina Dobrev), who falls in love with vampire Stefan Salvatore (Paul Wesley), and soon finds herself caught in a love triangle between Stefan and his older brother, Damon (Ian Somerhalder), while the brothers are also being haunted by the past they've had with Katherine Pierce (also played by Nina Dobrev). The series also focuses on the lives of Elena's friends and other inhabitants of the fictional town of Mystic Falls, Virginia.

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.^[1] On February 16, 2010, The CW announced that it had renewed the show for a second season, which premiered on September 9, 2010.

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 seven Teen Choice Awards.The series follows the life of Elena Gilbert (Nina Dobrev), who falls for a century-old vampire named Stefan Salvatore (Paul Wesley). Their lives grow more and more complicated as Stefan's vicious brother Damon (Ian Somerhalder) returns to town with a vendetta against his brother. Both brothers begin to show affection towards Elena, mainly because of her resemblance to their past love Katherine. It is revealed that Katherine is Elena'sdoppleganger, 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. Other storylines revolve around the other inhabitants of the town, most notably Elena's younger brother Jeremy (Steven R. McQueen). The town's politics are orchestrated by descendants of the original founding families, all comprising a "Founders' Council". They guard the town mainly from vampires, but also creatures such as werewolvesand witches, some of whom are themselves members of the Founders' CouncilThe show's main focus is the fictional town of Mystic Falls, Virginia. All the characters are involved in some way with the town and/or the supernatural phenomena surrounding it. Although the show is based on the books of the same name, many of the characters are changed, though the main storylines are kept. Beginning from 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, the main antagonist.^[2] Elena is quickly involved in a love triangle between two vampires, which serves as one of the main focal points of the show. Paul Wesley portrays Stefan Salvatore,^[3] one of the vampire brothers who is good-hearted and affectionate, the opposite of his brother Damon Salvatore portrayed by Ian Somerhalder^[4], the malevolent vampire brother who serves as the show's anti-hero.

Other cast members include Steven R. McQueen who portrays Jeremy Gilbert,^[5] Elena's younger brother, later revealed to be her cousin, with Sara Canning acting as Jeremy and Elena's aunt and legal guardian, Jenna Sommers.^[6] Katerina Graham portrays Bonnie Bennett,^[7]Elena's best friend and a witch. Candice Accola portrays Caroline Forbes,^[8] Elena's insecure friend and occasional rival. Zach Roerigportrays Matt Donovan,^[9] Elena's childhood friend and ex-boyfriend, who later becomes romantically involved with Caroline. Michael Trevinoportrays Tyler Lockwood,^[10] a werewolf, Jeremy's rival, Matt's best friend and son of the mayor of Mystic Falls. Kayla Ewell portrayed Vicki Donovan,^[11] 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,^[12] a history teacher, vampire hunter, and love interest for Jenna.