Sadly, every series has an expiration date - including the CW's "Vampire Diaries." Co-creator Julie Plec revealed that the supernatural series could be ending sooner than fans expected.
So, what's keeping the series alive?
In an interview with E! News, Plec confessed that the CW series has become about Ian Somerhalder and Paul Wesley, who play Damon and Stefan Salvatore. She added that the two stars will decide when the show comes to an end.
"I finally realized that my destiny on this show, creatively, is tied into Ian Somerhalder and Paul Wesley," Plec told E! News. "And I mean that in a really good way. As long as those boys who I now consider my friends want to keep telling the story, then I won't walk away from telling the story."
The show underwent a dramatic change this season following Nina Dobrev's decision not to reprise her role as Elena Gilbert after six years on the show. Dobrev's character was put into a decade-long sleep at the end of season six. The series managed to navigate without one of its main characters, and despite a dip in ratings, it is still going strong.
In the meantime, Plec said that Somerhalder and Wesley would inform her on when they are no longer interested in playing the Salvatore brothers. When the time comes to say goodbye, Plec along with Somerhalder and Wesley will decide how to conclude the show.
"When they are ready to be done telling the story, I will put my pencil down and say that I'm done too, and then we will work together to end it in the best way possible," she continued. "There's always things that could go wrong in that scenario, there's always pressure that can be put on, but...the three of us I'd like to think will make the creative decision of when the show should be over."
At the Television Critics Association winter press tour on Monday, Plec told Variety that the show's writers have material to keep the show running for several seasons.
'We'll never figure out what next year is going to be!' And then we come up with an idea that's cooler," she shared. "It gets harder and harder, so there will come a point where I'll have to say I have zero ideas left, but right now, I still feel pretty inspired by it, so I'm just taking it one day at a time."
"The Vampire Diaries" returns Friday, Jan. 29, at 8 p.m. EST on the CW network.
