Teasers and unexpected videos aside, this year’s San Diego Comic-Con (SDCC) also saw the cast and crew of popular The CW show, “The Vampire Diaries“, coming together during a panel to deliver confirmation about the series’ long-rumoured end.
Yes, it is true.
After 8 years of growing up in Mystic Falls with the beloved “The Vampire Diaries” characters, some with less humanity than others, time has finally run out and season 8 will be the show’s last.
Present at the panel were the the all-star members of the cast – Ian Somerhalder (Damon Salvatore), Kat Graham (Bonnie Bennett), Paul Wesley (Stefan Salvatore), Candice King (Caroline Forbes), Michael Malarkey (Enzo St. John), Matthew Davis (Alaric Saltzman), Zach Roerig (Matt Donovan) – as well as executive producers Kevin Williamson and Julie Plec.
Julie made the official announcement saying, “The greatest honour you can have as a storyteller in the business of television is to be able to make those decisions with your peers, and with your friends, and your fellow storytellers and we all have discussed it and we have made the decision that this is it. And you guys are here for our last Comic Con, because this is going to be the final season of ‘The Vampire Diaries’. It’s bittersweet and emotional, and we’re going to be crying in about 5 minutes.”
“But we wanted to be the ones to tell you guys first because you’ve been with us on this run. And it has been a beautiful run,” she added, in a special message directed to the fans.
The CW President Mark Pedowitz also chimed in with his own statement regarding the end of “The Vampire Diaries”, saying, “’The Vampire Diaries’ has meant so much to so many fans around the world, and has meant so much to all of us at The CW. I am a huge fan of the show myself, and I’ve seen every episode. So I am very happy that we can give Julie and Kevin the chance to finish their story the way they have envisioned, and to give viewers a fantastic conclusion to eight spectacular seasons.”
“The Vampire Diaries” first aired on The CW back in September 2009. The pilot episode attracted the largest audience for The CW of any series premiere since the network began in 2006. The first season averaged 3.60 million viewers and following seasons have maintained an audience of over 2 million viewers. It was the most-watched series on the network before being supplanted by “Arrow”.
We’re sure that thousands of “The Vampire Diaries” fans from around the globe collectively shed tears upon Julie’s announcement. We know we did. And no goodbye would’ve been complete without a tribute video. So bless the cast and crew of the show for putting together a farewell video, featuring the exclusive premiere of The Fray’s “Changing Tides”, which was screened following Julie’s announcement.
Watch, and just you try not to cry:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zCnHIhIdHoY
Season 8 and the final season of the series will feature a new evil of a whole different level and is expected to air on 21st October 2016, with a series finale date to be announced later. It is not known if Nina Dobrev (Elena Gilbert) will return for the finale for an official bow-out.
For more information, visit the TV series’ Facebook page.
