The Vampire Diaries Set to Take a Bite Out of The CW Line-up

In May The CW released its new fall line-up for September, which included a restructured TV schedule that now includes only dramas such as the highly anticipated Vampire Diaries plus veteran CW shows like One Tree Hill and Supernatural. There are now four new CW shows slated to premiere during September sweeps, which include the remake of Melrose Place, The Vampire Diaries, the Ashton Kutcher produced, A Beautiful Life, and the midseason drama, Parental Discretion Advised. The inclusion of the dramatic four was part of The CW’s shake-up that excluded comedies, which can often be more susceptible to cancellation than others, although former WB staples such as Reba and What I Like About You enjoyed success despite their challenging Friday night timeslots.

The Vampire Diaries is the television adaptation of the popular young adult novels written by L.J. Smith back in 1991. The recent surge in anything and everything vampire related could have been the reason behind The CW’s decision to include a show set in the popular world of vampires thanks in large part to the success of The Twilight Saga and HBO’s True Blood.

The Vampire Diaries stars a bevy of unknowns who are about to be catapulted into the TV limelight despite moderate success and visibility prior to being cast in The Vampire Diaries. Like Twilight, the series centers around the 17-year old Elena Gilbert who will be embodied by the Bulgarian born Canadian, Nina Dobrev. Playing the immediate love interest of Elena Gilbert is actor Paul Wesley as the enigmatic Stefan Salvatore who shares an inexplicable pull with Elena. Stefan’s older brother, Damon (Ian Somerhalder) assumes the personification of the more familiar evil vampire stereotype who also has eyes for Elena, although Damon’s initial intentions have a more bloodthirsty twist.

The three core characters of the upcoming Vampire Diaries are already gaining in popularity as internet searches are buzzing about the new television eye candy that The CW is about to give fans. Somerhalder and Wesley will undoubtedly be setting countless hearts a fluttering once eager love struck fans take in the pilot. Along with Elena and her cold-blooded lovers are a variety of human character friends, which have been translated directly from The Vampire Diaries novels. Bonnie (Katerina Graham), Matt (Zach Roerig), and current frenemie, Caroline (Candice Accola) are all players in the pilot episode, which is set to air on September 10, 2009. However, a notable omission by the production staff is the popular literary Vampire Diaries character, Meredith Sulez. Despite the absence of Meredith, the producers of The Vampire Diaries have already gone public over the fact that it was a difficult task to introduce 10 characters in the pilot and that fans of Meredith will have to wait patiently for her to find her way into the Diaries.

Unlike The Twilight Saga, which has seen two novels turned into film adaptations, The Vampire Diaries will include the storyline of the four original novels: The Awakening, The Struggle, The Fury, and Dark Reunion. The main advantage of the “all inclusive” Vampire Diaries approach is that it affords both the characters and the storylines to develop organically. The Vampire Diaries may follow the same character footsteps as Gossip Girl, which took a variety of creative liberties in the development of character relationships, namely the romantic involvement of Blair Waldorf and Chuck Bass, which was never a part of the novels.

Along the way to bringing The Vampire Diaries to life, a few notable changes have already been worked into the series development, including the name change of Elena’s aunt from Judith Gilbert to Jenna Moyer (Sarah Canning) and the addition of Jeremy Gilbert (Steven R. McQueen), Elena’s brother. In The Vampire Diaries books, Elena originally had a younger sister, Margaret. For the TV translation producers felt that Jeremy would be a better fit for the series. The decision could be for several reasons, such as freedom to work without age restrictions but the inclusion of Jeremy will provide an additional romance aside from Elena’s already complex love triangle.

At this point, there’s little doubt that The Vampire Diaries won’t debut strong. The CW has already started Vampire promotion for its new media Diaries darling with on-air plugs ahead of the series premiere of The Vampire Diaries, which is still over two months away. Given its legacy from The WB and UPN, with hugely popular shows like Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel, The CW has reclaimed its rightful place as the leader in teen oriented drama with the likes of Gossip Girl and 90210. However, HBO’s True Blood has taken a bite out of the vampire craze to give lay a foundation as one of the formidable competitors.

Like Twilight, The Vampire Diaries has the advantage of being an established literary property from the early ’90s. However, there’s an interesting audience dynamic at play for both The CW and The Vampire Diaries. The young adults who first read The Vampire Diaries books in the ’90s are now adults while the target age group of viewers for the pilot episode are of a new generation of vampire fans who are experiencing the craze for the very first time. Perhaps the most important factors in lifeblood longevity for The Vampire Diaries is that it’s premiering two months ahead of the release of the Twilight Saga sequel, New Moon, and it has just the right amount of time to gain an audience before the vampire bubble bursts. By that time, viewers may already be hooked after giving their TV blood to The Vampire Diaries on a weekly basis.

The Vampire Diaries takes a bite out of The CW line-up on September 10, 2009.