With 2023 still just starting off, it’s already offering a multitude of opportunities for the entertainment industry. Tons of new releases are hitting streaming platforms in the coming months, and many beloved series are seeing highly-anticipated continuations coming soon. Fanbases are known to be extremely hooked and dedicated to the shows they love, and this especially holds true when it comes to The Vampire Diaries. Die-hard fans were so obsessed that there were two spin-off shows for them to latch onto: The Originals and Legacies.
As a fan myself, I know that we’ve had The Vampire Diaries content since 2009, but after the main series came to an end in 2017 and The Originals concluded in 2018, the CW gave fans the final blow with Legacies being canceled in 2022. 2023 is the first year since 2009 that fans will unfortunately not be able to watch any new content from one of their favorite franchises. I know that for me and many others, The Vampire Diaries has always been a legendary vampire universe… and coping with its absence will not come easily.
So the question is: What do fans do now that their favorite franchise has ended, and this is finally the year to say goodbye to these characters we’ve grown to love and care for? Well, thankfully, because of this dedicated fan base, there are numerous options we can do to still stay connected with The Vampire Diaries, The Originals, and Legacies.
Rewatch!
The most straightforward way to stay connected with the three shows is to simply rewatch them all. The Vampire Diaries is available to watch on HBO Max, while The Originals and Legacies are both available to watch on Netflix.
By rewatching these dramas, fans will get to relive some of their favorite moments from those series and fall in love with the characters all over again. Since I’ve seen them so often already, I now love having them in the background while I do work or chores around the house — of course, I still just sit down and watch each show as well.
Visit mystic falls, Virginia (in Covington, Georgia)
Technically fans would actually be visiting Covington, Georgia, but this southeastern city is home to the beloved fictitious town of Mystic Falls, Virginia. The majority of filming for The Vampire Diaries — and some of both Legacies and The Originals as well — was filmed here. By taking a road trip to Georgia, fans will be able to visit some of the most iconic locations featured in the franchise.
Fans can eat at the Mystic Grill with an exterior identical to the one featured in the show (thanks to the committed fans who brought the restaurant to life). After enjoying a meal, those who want to embody their favorite vampire characters by drinking “blood” can walk to The Alley Gift Shop. Located directly under the Mystic Grill, this place is where “blood bags” of fruit punch are sold. After the taste buds are satiated, fans can also visit the Mystic Museum, which is located within the gift shop.
After visiting the Mystic Grill area, they can walk approximately 10 minutes over to the famous clock tower. The clock tower is technically a courthouse, but fans will be able to get a ton of great photos outside.
Right across the street from the clock tower, there’s another gift shop owned by the Vampire Stalkers Mystic Falls Tours. This group provides paid tours where fans can get up close and personal with iconic places like the town square and receive exclusive access to the Gilbert house’s porch, Caroline Forbes’ house, Lockwood Mansion, and many other locations. This tour also offers visits to Legacies locations, and they offer a separate tour of locations from The Originals.
With all of these locations and additional locations to visit in the area, fans will need a place to stay, and what better place to stay than one from the show? The Twelve Oaks Bed and Breakfast was used as the 1864 Lockwood Mansion, and fans can stay overnight in The Vampire Diaries named rooms. Fans can also stay in Caroline’s house because it has been turned into an Airbnb. Fans can also stay in the show’s modern-day Lockwood Mansion because it also has been turned into an Airbnb.
All of these would be a great way to immerse yourself back into the show and could be a fun road trip.
Attend a convention
Traveling all the way to Georgia and doing all of the activities stated above might be out of the price range for some fans, or it could be hard to find time to travel. Thankfully Creation Entertainment has been hosting reunion conventions across the country that brings cast from The Vampire Diaries, The Originals, and Legacies together. It’s been an annual convention, and it brings back a good amount of the cast from each of the three shows — especially the all-time favorites Ian Somerhalder and Paul Wesley.
Here fans can meet some of their favorite actors and actresses from these beloved shows and interact with fans just like themselves. One of the locations is actually in New Jersey, which is less than an hour’s drive from the College Avenue campus here at Rutgers.
Of course, if you do happen to be in the Covington, Georgia, area, then there is a convention there as well that’s hosted by a different company, Epic Events and Entertainment. This convention is normally able to get most of the cast, but each convention is packed with a ton of entertainment, events, merchandise, meet and greets, panels, and more.
Run a vampire 5k
Running a 5K is always a good way to raise money for a cause. With Vampire Run, fans of the three shows can “take a bite out of blood cancers!” By running the fun themed 5K, fans will be raising money to fight cancer — all net proceeds go directly to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.
Those who want to participate in the 5K but can’t make it to Covington, Georgia, can sign up for the virtual version. This way, fans can participate but don’t need to spend extra money to travel. Additionally, to show off your love for the show-related run, there is a shirt available for purchase.
Invest in a bottle of brother’s bond bourbon
For my 21+ fans, Brother’s Bond Bourbon is Somerhalder’s and Wesley’s own bourbon they made after The Vampire Diaries ended because, as fans know, both their characters always drank bourbon on the show. So from them being able to bond over the years of filming together, they decided to create their own bourbon brand. Since this franchise’s legacy stretches so many years, the fanbase is filled with people of various ages, so only if you’re over 21 can you buy this to support the Salvatore brothers.
The two actors recently traveled across the country and stopped in some liquor stores to do a bottle signing, so keep an eye out for this in the future. If you’re ever in the California area, Somerhalder also has been stopping in a few stores there to leave signed bottles. Somerhalder and Wesley have a huge passion for their bourbon brand and want fans to have a tasteful brand of alcohol.
If old enough fans also desire, Nina Dobrev — our beloved Elena Gilbert — and her friend create their own wine called Fresh Vine.
watch a new show
With media always churning out new shows, there is an endless amount of options you can choose from to redirect your supernatural obsession. If you want more vampires and more acting from Somerhalder, watch Netflix’s V-Wars. It’s a show where he’s the main star, and it follows how a virus was released, causing people to feed on human blood.
Another good show to binge-watch is Teen Wolf, which just had a movie released on Paramount+ following the show’s ending back in 2017. This is another supernatural show that gets fans hooked from the very beginning, and it was so sad when this show came to an end.
If you want another show that’s primarily about vampires and also had its own spin-off, watch Buffy the Vampire Slayer, then Angel. Jam-packed with teen drama, this franchise won’t let you down when it comes to the romance, fight scenes, and overall drama in the characters’ day-to-day lives.
Share the love with a friend
If you’re a huge fan of the three vampire shows but don’t have anyone to do these things with or just talk about or rewatch the show with, then introduce it to someone! If you don’t like moving on from your comfort show and only re-watched it, this is a great way for fans to relive the scenes, but instead of by themselves, fans will be able to do it with someone in their life. I’ve recently done this, and now we can share memes about the show and think about doing the things on this list.
Being a fan of The Vampire Diaries for as long as I can remember, it was insane when it sunk in that 2023 is the year we won’t be able to watch new content from this vampire universe. Nonetheless, there is always a way to stay connected with the franchise that’s been with us for more than a decade.