Global InformationThe Vampire Diaries information
| The Vampire Diaries | |
|---|---|
 Title card used from season 2 through season 8 | |
| Genre |
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| Based on | The Vampire Diaries by L. J. Smith |
| Developed by |
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| Starring |
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| Composer | Michael Suby |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| No. of seasons | 8 |
| No. of episodes | 171 (list of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Executive producers |
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| Producer | Julie Plec |
| Production locations |
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| Cinematography |
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| Running time | 41–49 minutes |
| Production companies |
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| Original release | |
| Network | The CW |
| Release | September 10, 2009 – March 10, 2017 |
| Related | |
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| Infobox instructions (only shown in preview) | |
The Vampire Diaries is an American supernatural teen drama television series developed by Kevin Williamson and Julie Plec, based on the book series of the same name written by L. J. Smith. The series premiered on The CW on September 10, 2009, and concluded on March 10, 2017, having aired 171 episodes over eight seasons.
The pilot episode attracted the largest audience for The CW of any series premiere since the network launched in 2006;[1] the first season averaged 3.60 million viewers.[2] It became the most-watched series on the network before being surpassed by Arrow. The show has received numerous award nominations, winning four People's Choice Awards and many Teen Choice Awards.
In April 2015, lead actress Nina Dobrev, 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.[3] In March 2016, The CW renewed the series for an eighth season,[4] but in July of that year announced that the eighth season, consisting of 16 episodes, would be the show's last.[5] The final season began airing on October 21, 2016, and ended March 10, 2017.
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 CW – was 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.
- ^ "'Vampire Diaries' star Nina Dobrev on Elena's look-alike dilemma and more". Los Angeles Times. January 21, 2010. Retrieved February 8, 2010.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
Season1was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ "Was That Really You Know Who In TVD's Season 7 Finale?". May 14, 2016.
- ^ Porter, Rick (March 11, 2016). "'The Flash', 'The 100' and even 'Crazy Ex-Girlfriend' renewed: All 11 CW series picked up for 2016–17". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on March 12, 2016. Retrieved March 11, 2016.
- ^ Goldberg, Lesley (July 23, 2016). "'Comic-Con: 'The Vampire Diaries' to End With Season 8". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved July 23, 2016.