Vampire Diaries premiered on The CW on Sept. 10, 2009, and ran for eight seasons,.
Below, in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Plec looks back at The Vampire Diaries 15 years later, as well as her successful television career as a whole.
You were also juggling The Vampire Diaries and The Originals at the same time for several years.
I also realized you have had at least one show on the air since The Vampire Diaries premiered.
But the thing about the Vampire Diaries franchise was when we started in Atlanta, we all were new; new to each other, the crew was new.
And over the eight years of Vampire Diaries, we watched crew members grow up from day playing to gaffers and VPs.
And we had that journey with each other over the eight years with Vampire Diaries.
I know you’ll be reuniting with Candice King [who played Caroline on Vampire Diaries] as well.
I saw that you mentioned there have been conversations surrounding a Vampire Diaries movie at a fan convention last year.
Do you ever think about trying to get the band back together for another project with the original Vampire Diaries cast?
Mystic Falls, with its vampires, love triangles, and adolescent drama, was first introduced to audiences fifteen years ago. Even so, a lot of viewers still have a particular spot in their hearts for The Vampire Diaries.
September marked the debut of Vampire Diaries on The CW. 10, 2009, spanning eight seasons. In honor of the significant anniversary, showrunner Julie Plec reflects on the series she co-created with Kevin Williamson and how it gave rise to a franchise centered around the paranormal.
In addition to wanting to “tell a really emotional story that was sexy and romantic and scary and all the things,” she remembers wanting to create “something that felt timeless, that could live on and continue to feel like anybody, any generation at any time can connect to it.”. “.
Plec and Williamson realized that in order to achieve their goals, they needed to assemble a strong team capable of telling stories that are both extremely entertaining and have “creative integrity.”. “.
Additionally, according to Plec, developing successful on-screen relationships is a “very complicated dance,” so they needed the ideal cast. Even though they made him “worse and meaner and more murderous and more despicable,” the audience still wanted Damon (Ian Somerhalder) and Elena (Nina Dobrev) together. “.
To their surprise, however, they succeeded in creating an entire television universe around The Vampire Diaries, complete with two popular spinoffs, The Originals and Legacies, and the careers of several other actors and actresses like Dobrev, Somerhalder, Paul Wesley, Kat Graham, Candice King, and even more.
Here, Plec reflects on The Vampire Diaries after 15 years and her fruitful television career overall in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter. In addition, she talks about her favorite episode, casting difficulties, navigating on-screen romances, the realization that she had made something truly unique, and whether or not there will be more Vampire Diaries stories to tell in the future.
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What first comes to mind when you think back to 2009 and the prep you were doing for The Vampire Dairies’ premiere?
Kevin would often tell us that there was a 50/50 chance that we would either be the ones to ignite the vampire craze or ride it out. Twilight and True Blood are two examples of zeitgeist moments that can completely backfire on you, or they can deliver everything that everyone wants, and in both cases, you never know if you’re going to succeed or fail. Entering a show was both exciting and terrifying because we had no idea how it would be received, even though we were proud of it and pleased with how it was coming together.
When you think back to the beginning, could you have imagined the direction the show would go in or that it would lead to the success of two spinoff series?
At first, it was essentially just a simple process to adapt a classic book series [L. Scott Perry’s The Vampire Diaries]. H. Smith] that particularly resonated with Kevin and me for two reasons: first, I became a huge fan of Buffy the Vampire Slayer in the late 1990s, and second, he grew up as a huge fan of Dark Shadows. Furthermore, we had both read every book written by Anne Rice, as well as every outstanding vampire film. Simply said, we adore the genre in its entirety. We were so eager to enter and share a deeply moving tale that was all at once seductive, romantic, spooky, and everything else.
Though I doubt either of us ever considered pursuing a franchise, the damn Originals were so good that they eventually made their way into the spotlight. Additionally, it features exceptionally well-casting in addition to the concept of an original vampire family and the history of the species in our world. Until it became abundantly clear that it was the ideal course of action, people like Joseph Morgan, Daniel Gillies, and Claire Holt in particular opened the door for additional opportunities that we hadn’t even considered.
It seems to have been a delightful surprise.
Yes, the books mentioned the Originals but did not provide a detailed family dynamic. And when you are introducing new characters, one thing that you do in writers’ rooms all the time is try to figure out what their powerful, emotional relationships are and what is the emotional core of who they are—even if they are villains. Kevin and I always have to do that with the villainous character because we are big believers that the villains are always the heroes of their own story. You truly want to provide them with the same profound needs and desires that you would provide for your hero. Thus, it turned into this incredibly wonderful chance to construct a very dysfunctional, a thousand-year history of abused children, and how that brought them together in the most profound way while also enabling them to continue the abuse against one another. And the question of whether we actually are trapped in this cycle for all eternity or can we break free from it?
The Vampire Diaries is essentially about grief, family, and loss, so the thematic ideas it explored were so different from what we were doing there that it felt like we were watching a completely new story without going over too much ground again. That’s the risk you take when you do a follow-up show, and occasionally it can seem like you’re just repeating the first one with new characters. We had a lot of fascinating discussions about how to make the Originals feel like a more Shakespearean take on what The Vampire Diaries had been, because we really wanted to avoid falling into that trap.
Regarding the show’s success, how was it collaborating with Kevin Williamson?
Working with Kevin Williamson is exciting because of the unpredictable ways in which his mind operates. He therefore devises the unexpected plot twist that leaves everyone guessing. The best course of action is sometimes to simply sit back and observe as his narrative unfolds. I refer to this process as the “story blender,” wherein all the ideas submitted by other writers are combined and combined until Kevin comes up with the one idea that none of us had considered. Naturally, this one idea ends up being the most amazing or unexpected of all. His very being and the way his mind functions are their own master classes in clever storyline and effective storytelling.
My mouth would drop when he would pitch me something. I would ask him, “How does your brain do this?” and he would respond, “Well, when everyone’s going in one direction, I try to look at it and say, what’s the direction nobody’s looking in?” I learned that lesson from him and used it to train all the other writers for the next thirteen years, spanning three different shows. Therefore, he can be thought of as something of a godfather to all the writers who began with us, the staff writers who are now all creators and showrunners in their own right, as well as to everyone who came out of that trilogy and franchise.
For a number of years, you were also juggling The Originals and The Vampire Diaries simultaneously. How did that feel?
It was a delegation (laughs) and prioritization exercise. I felt like I had a hand in every little aspect of the world, and I spent the first few years of Vampire Diaries with Kevin and then without him. That level of meticulous attention to detail can produce television that is really high quality, but it can also gradually drive someone insane and take them to unsettling places. It was comparable to maintaining one’s physical and mental well-being.
After realizing how crucial it was for me to start empowering others and my teammates—to teach them more, to let them do more, to let go of things—watching The Originals four years into The Vampire Diaries made sense. And in doing so, it became evident just how strong the writing team was—Caroline Dries and Mike Narducci in particular. In order for me to continue being involved in both, I was then able to leave Caroline with Vampire Diaries so that she was on a daily basis and bring Narducci over to the original so that he was on a daily basis. It was Carol Mendelsohn, I believe, who once said, “You never leave the mothership.”. And I discovered very early on in Vampire Diaries that you never really leave the mothership because you always want to make sure that you’re looking after the parents of anything that can be franchised. Because your foundations have crumbled if that fails and falls apart. That’s why I find it so important to stick with Vampire Diaries no matter how busy I became or how many shows I was juggling.
An additional author who joined Vampire Dairies during season three, who oversaw so much incredible work with Brett Matthews—my “work husband,” as I like to refer to him—was the driving force behind Legacies. Consequently, I had to look for others who shared my passion for the show and who could work with me to expand the franchise into more shows.
I also discovered that since the debut of The Vampire Diaries, you have had at least one show on television. How do you interpret that?
I am really proud of that 15-year run, and I think that, in theory, a run can and should continue, especially with We Were Liars coming out the following year. Thus, it’s better to be involved now rather than reflect on the past. Hopefully, there will be a great deal more in the future.
However, the thing about the Vampire Diaries series was that, when we first arrived in Atlanta, the crew and I were both brand-new. Additionally, we saw crew members advance from day players to gaffers and vice presidents over the course of the eight years of Vampire Diaries. The best boy, a key grip, and a member of one of our day player groups went on to perform in Marvel productions. The ecosystem truly expanded as we had ADs become directors, screenplay supervisors become directors, editors become producers, and directors become directors. We spend four years in high school and, if we’re lucky, another four years in college, I used to say. And all of your most influential and formative relationships were developed during that eight-year period. During the eight years of Vampire Diaries, we shared that journey together. Thus, carrying on the franchise with The Originals and, eventually, Legacies, was as much about preserving the narrative as it was about maintaining the ecosystem that drove and grew, kept the cast and crew engaged in creating the shows, provided opportunities for everyone to work, and helped to create the crew family, which was, over the course of the fifteen years, a very strong and meaningful bond.
For a long time, you also worked on supernatural television with shows like The Vampire Diaires, The Originals, and Legacies. However, your most recent project, The Girls on the Bus, is a political drama, which is the exact opposite of what you were doing with The Vampire Diaires. In what ways was it departing from the supernatural genre?
Being able to do that show was such a thrill. I went to college with Greg Berlanti, and we’ve been friends for thirty years. Five or six years ago, he called me out of the blue and said, “I have your next show.” And he deserves all the credit for that show. For you, it is ideal. “You’re doing it,” and advised me to read “The Girl on the Bus,” a chapter in Amy Chozick’s book Chasing Hillary. And given that I also adore The West Wing, he was correct. The American President is beloved by both of us. We are both generally passionate about politics. The founding family is another subject I’m always, always, always looking to tell stories about; in fact, one of the main themes of the stories I enjoy telling is this. It therefore fulfilled every need I had on both an intellectual and an emotional level, and the best part was that it was my first time creating a show for non-broadcast media. The freedom that comes with having a little bit more money and not having to worry about acting breaks, running times, or what your character can wear.
Additionally, to have a writers’ room where we could simply write the script without being constrained by a production deadline—all the things that go into creating television programs. Overall, it was enjoyable to be able to be the creator/showrunner of part A and, in the end, the executive producer of part B, even though the version I got to write didn’t end up making it onto the air.
You talked about bringing We Were Liars to television. I know you’ll be reuniting with Candice King [who played Caroline on Vampire Diaries], but what are you most excited about that, and can you tease anything for book fans?
I’ve been a fan of this book since it came out in 2014, and I’m thrilled to finally be able to finally realize my dream of turning it into a TV series. Carina Adly MacKenzie and I had to go through a few fruitless attempts and the departure of other people before we were given the go-ahead to work with Universal and Amazon on the project. We aim to present the most enchanting, sensual, enigmatic, darkly comedic, intensely shy, coming-of-age, and cross-generational love story possible. Right now, we’re filming the final episode of the season, and it feels great. Since Candice and I kind of grew up together—we were among her first acting roles—I’m thrilled to be able to offer her the chance to take on a mature role. It’s a role that Candice was born to play.
Returning to Vampire Diaries, the program shot a great deal of its actors to stardom. When did you realize that cast was something special?
During filming the pilot, I believe there were certain instances when we realized, quite clearly, that Nina Dobrev was a phenomenal scene-setter. It’s kind of like watching the early days of individual success stories, with Nina and Paul Wesley having this amazing chemistry and Ian as Damon being this wicked delight. I guess I was waiting for that one moment, like in Twilight, Beverly Hills, 90210, or the screaming girls mall appearances, when everything seemed so sudden and everyone was so famous. Over the course of eight years, the show became incredibly popular, successful, and long-running without my knowledge or awareness. It was all just something that naturally happened.
I believe that the last five years, whether it was with COVID or Netflix or something else, is when the show reached its pinnacle of popularity. A waitress who saw me strolling by will run out of a restaurant, say hello, and acknowledge that she has seen me while I’m strolling down a European city street. And I feel that a TV show must have had a significant worldwide impact when it reaches the stage where viewers in other countries are recognizing the writer. It’s been quite the roller coaster to watch the audience expand globally and across generations.
Which other actors did you think would be a good fit for Elena, Damon, and Stefan?
We had a terrible time filling all three roles, so the roller coaster that was the process of casting the leads was kind of hilariously well documented. Nina was sick when she arrived early in the process, so we didn’t really give her much attention. She had to fight to be seen again and get herself recorded so that we could give her another look once she recovered. Additionally, it arrived precisely when we were raising our hands in celebration. Because I had been a fan of Young Americans, we were immediately drawn to Ian. Nevertheless, he blew his audition, which he acknowledges, which everyone knows, and which is now canon. But for a brief moment, we thought, “Well, if he’s not our Damon, then who is?” and then, out of a sea of ten potential Stefans, Paul Wesley entered. Furthermore, Kevin and I decided that Paul was too old, so we said, “No, we don’t want him.” We’ve also stated this before, so I don’t feel like I’m bragging. He’s too old. Subsequently, the network decided to replace Ian with Damon. “Oh no, that’s not possible,” we said. A horrible notion. “.
Thus, Kevin and I were the last two passengers on the Paul Wesley train. It wasn’t until his first day of filming, when he and Nina Dobrev were filming a scene in which they run into each other for the first time in a cemetery, that we truly realized how wrong we had been. How embarrassing—he’s flawless. I know we were pursuing every avenue possible with the covenants—Steven Strait, Sebastian Stan, Taylor Kitsch, and so on—but in the end, I don’t believe we could have done a better job.
When you look back, what is your best memory of the show or set?
Two are present. One is from our eight years of working together and the finale we did (I believe it was episode 172). Every time we shot on the set for the final time, we would all take a moment to say goodbye to the set and I would give a speech about the set and what it meant to us. It was a big cry fest for about two weeks straight, and every time we shot out one of our actors for the final time, I would give a speech again and we would all say goodbye to the actor and the actor would say goodbye to the character. You just don’t really get to experience those emotions unless you’ve been dating for a long time. It’s that beautiful and emotional.
Socially speaking, we used to go to this tiny bar on Friday nights if we wrapped up early or on Saturday nights to meet up for drinks, and the manager there became a friend. The bar was the size of a small studio apartment in New York. We would occasionally hang out and drink there until six in the morning since he would let us stay until after closing. To be honest, I believe that part of the reason the cast and crew of this specific show got along so well was the quantity of wine that was drunk at this wine bar on the weekends at three in the morning. The thing that we probably all miss the most about it is that it’s no longer there after they literally paved paradise and built a parking lot.
Regarding The Vampire Diaries, what accomplishment are you most proud of?
One thing that truly stands out to me is that, even after 15 years since the first show’s premiere, viewers are still finding new ways to enjoy it and/or rewatching it. We can truly thank streaming for the fact that it just doesn’t go away. Therefore, even though we can all be terrible streamers these days for various reasons, I am still really appreciative of the show’s original success on Netflix following its own success on The CW. We’re not making a TV show; rather, we’re making a series of short films, and everything we do should be approached with the storytelling and cinematic integrity of a feature film, according to Marcos Siega, the pilot’s director, which makes me incredibly proud of the content itself. And Kevin and I truly felt that, so I made an effort to maintain that throughout the years, never settling for a hurried episode or for cheap storytelling.
A lot of showrunners that I know discuss a 22-episode season and claim that not every episode is a winner. And I would constantly respond, “That’s not acceptable to me.”. If it’s not the winner, we’ll put in as much effort as we can in the remaining time to turn it around. Up until that point, each episode must be better than the previous one; if we run out of time, we’ll settle. And while I acknowledge that there are times when we simply couldn’t, that’s okay too, I also feel proud of the times when we were able to actually accomplish that. Because when a show gets that deep into its run, the audience can occasionally forgive the writers because they are just that invested in and engaged with the characters.
Regarding the careers that have been started over the last 15 years, both in front of and behind the camera, I am incredibly proud. With so many people on The Originals, we hired Ashley Lyle and Bart Nickerson as our first television writers, and they went on to achieve incredible success with Yellowkackets. And the creator/showrunner Caroline Dries. Many people, but I’m just happy that I was able to use that experience as a small-scale training ground for others while I was picking up skills on the job. But I eventually understood that I had to ensure that others were aware of what I was learning. Therefore, I’m glad that everyone can now do that on their own even though we were all in this together.
I’m glad that we brought a lot of people to tears because, in all honesty, my family wasn’t comfortable with me expressing a lot of emotion when I was growing up, which is why I got into television storytelling. I used to cry at Little House on the Prairie and movie trailers. I needed a way to let go of my tears, so I channeled them all into the storytelling in hopes that others might too.
Sincerely, each time I watch the series again, I cry.
Since you’re watching it again, allow me to add one more: I was afraid that I would be the one to ruin everything when Kevin left the show at the start of season three. The fifth episode of the third season, “The Reckoning,” was written by Mike Narducci, who we had just brought on board early in the season. It really got to me. And although it was challenging to write and assemble, he did a fantastic job. And when I watched the preview for that TV show, I thought, “Oh my God, I can do this, we can do this.”. This is not going to be messed up. That particular episode was one of my favorites of the show from beginning to end. Lance Anderson did the editing for it.
How did you balance all the onscreen couples that became fan favorites over the years without letting them overshadow each other?
Math, chemistry, and fan response are all equally important in creating a successful relationship on television. At the conclusion of season two, I came to the conclusion that Stefan and Caroline would eventually start dating and that this was just the start of an incredibly long storyline for them. The show would end with them together, no matter how long it took. I didn’t care if it took five years. And then, exactly one season later, Klaus appears. Rebecca Sonnenshine writes a really great monologue, but other than that, none of us can really blame Klaus for the sudden, palpable chemistry between the two, which nearly ruined the whole scheme to get her and Stefan together. As a result, you’re always changing and dropping plans, trying to make things work and then realizing, “Oh shoot, that doesn’t work,” so you have to throw all those plans out the window and respond on the fly. The great thing about broadcasting is that an episode can be written as early as one and a half months ahead of time, shot three weeks ahead of schedule, and then broadcast. You genuinely have time, then, to allow fans to respond and to make changes in response to what works and what doesn’t. That dance is extremely, extremely complex.
Worse still, no matter how hard we writers tried to persuade the audience that Damon and Elena shouldn’t be together—by making him meaner, more violent, and more reprehensible—they still wanted to be together. The show ends the moment you give them what they want, so we’re always chasing after them and figuring out how to satisfy their needs without giving in to their demands. Thus, all those things needed to be figured out.
I noticed that at a fan convention last year, you mentioned that there had been discussions about a Vampire Diaries movie. Can you provide any information about that?
Actually, Paul Wesley and I were only texting two days ago when he asked, “Why aren’t we doing this?” after seeing the news about the Twilight animated series. I responded, “That’s a good question.”. Let’s carry out this action. Numerous chances exist to maintain this universe and this franchise. For me, it’s all about timing and the right concept—I’m game. Leslie Morgenstein has been discussing a possible Vampire Diaries movie since at least season two, so I’m sure he’s still working on it stealthily. We’ve discussed numerous approaches to telling a new version of the story or going back to favorite passages in the narrative. I am aware that such talks take place on a regular basis. We’ll see. I know I have a story I’d like to share if I ever get the chance to meet someone.
Have you considered attempting to reunite the group for a future project involving the original cast of Vampire Diaries?
The difficult thing about writing a vampire story is that, as you can imagine, your character isn’t supposed to age. This adds another layer of complexity to the tale, and the fact that ninety percent of them passed away before the show’s conclusion complicates the concept of a prequel or sequel. However, there are still methods to honor and revisit the main characters, and some of the concepts I have in mind are approaches to do so. But whether it’s me or someone else writing The Vampire Diaries’ next chapter, they will have their work cut out for them because there have been hundreds of episodes across all three shows, so a lot of stories have been told. It’s a challenging but enjoyable task.
For those who are just now discovering the show, what advice would you give to prospective viewers?
Let me clarify that our goal was to create something that would feel ageless and that anyone, from any generation, could relate to at any time. I believe this is the main reason it has stood the test of time in many respects. In all honesty and self-awareness, I will also admit that some things are not credible. The way we tell stories today is very different from how we told them perhaps fifteen years ago because the world has changed, as has the way we live in it. Agency, inclusion, and writing characters of color through the eyes of other writers of color rather than just colorblind casting and writing, not really acknowledging race in the proper ways, and learning many lessons as the world changed over time are examples of these kinds of things. Thus, I’ve learned a lot of difficult lessons that have caused me to make many different decisions now than I did fifteen years ago when it came to telling stories. But aside from those issues, I believe we can all hold our heads high and be proud of our efforts to tell stories that are both incredibly entertaining and emotionally charged while maintaining a high standard of creativity. And I believe that’s what we were able to achieve, which is worth celebrating.
