The Vampire Diaries

The Vampire Diaries is an American supernatural drama television series developed by Alex Lloyd, 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 Television Network on September 10, 2009, and is currently in its third season, which premiered on September 15, 2011. The series takes place in Mystic Falls, Virginia, a fictional small town haunted by supernatural beings. The main focus of the series is the love triangle between the female protagonist Elena Gilbert (Nina Dobrev) and Stefan (Paul Wesley) and Damon (Ian Somerhalder), all of whom have dark pasts. Later light is thrown on the mysterious past of the town involving Elena's malevolent doppelgänger Katherine who seeks revenge against the town, Stefan, Damon, and Elena.
The pilot episode attracted the largest audience of any series premiere since the network began in 2006. The first season averaged 3.60 million viewers. 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 many Teen Choice Awards. On April 26, 2011, The CW renewed the series for a third season which began on September 15, 2011.


The Vampire Diaries initially received mixed reviews. Metacritic gave the show a Metascore of 50 based on 22 critical reviews, indicating mixed to average reviews. Entertainment Weekly gave the pilot a B+, declaring that the show "signals a welcome return to form for writer-producer Kevin Williamson". Reviewer Ken Tucker ended his review by writing that "Diaries promises us a season of sharp-tongued amusement. Linda Stasi of the New York Post gave the premiere a perfect score, saying that she was "hooked after one episode". Stasi praised the pacing of the episode and the "vicious, bloody vamp action", which "starts in the opening scene and continues throughout The Vampire Diaries with such ferocity and speed that it's truly scary. Conversely, San Francisco Chronicle's Tim Goodman gave the episode a highly critical review, calling the series "awful". Goodman disliked the dialogue and hoped that the extras on Buffy the Vampire Slayer would "return en masse to eat the cast of Vampire Diaries, plus any remaining scripts.
Many TV critics felt the series improved with each episode. Sarah Hughes of The Independent says The Vampire Diaries turns into "a well-crafted, interestingly developed series", despite a poor opening episode.[16] The New York Post also praised the portrayal of Elena, finding the character to be a strong-minded woman who did not allow her feelings for her boyfriend to control her. Karla Peterson of The San Diego Union-Tribune said that "the supernatural drama is a first-class production, featuring an insanely gorgeous cast, sharp scripts and a brooding vibe that is hard for even the most levelheaded adult to resist. Mike Hale of The New York Times gave the series an honorable mention on his list of the top TV shows of 2009.


The series premiere on September 10, 2009 gave The CW its biggest series premiere scoring 4.91 million viewers. Adding in DVR numbers, the ratings for the premiere swelled to an official 5.7 million viewers. The following is a table for the seasonal rankings, based on average total estimated viewers per episode, of The Vampire Diaries on The CW. "Rank" refers to how The Vampire Diaries rated compared to the other television series which aired during prime time hours.