Ian Somerhalder says 'Vampire Diaries' will end after season 8

Discuss your favorite TV shows from the past and the present.
Post Reply
lanza218
Site Admin
Posts: 5062
Joined: March 15th, 2008, 9:25 pm

Ian Somerhalder says 'Vampire Diaries' will end after season 8

Post by lanza218 »

Ian Somerhalder says The Vampire Diaries will end after season 8
by Jessica Derschowitz | April 10 2016 — 4:28 PM EDT

Carin Baer/The CW

The end could soon be near for The Vampire Diaries, according to series star Ian Somerhalder.

The actor told fans at Walker Stalker Con in Nashville on Sunday that the show will conclude after season 8.

“We have decided to do one last season to really do the story justice,” Somerhalder said, according to the event’s official Twitter account.

In comments caught on video, he added, “My role is shifting in the show and we have a lot to do, basically.”


“We have decided to do one last season to really do the story justice” @iansomerhalder #WSNashville pic.twitter.com/J92egjkF6x

— Walker Stalker Con (@WalkrStalkrCon) April 10, 2016


@iansomerhalder on leaving TVD pic.twitter.com/anlnBVBgWL

— sarah jewell |-/ (@SupSurruh) April 10, 2016


A spokesperson for The CW told EW that “no decision has been made” regarding the future of the series.

WANT MORE EW? Subscribe now to keep up with the latest in movies, television and music.

The Vampire Diaries is about to wrap up its seventh season with a finale scheduled to air May 13. The show was renewed for an eighth season last month along with The Originals and nine other CW series.

Somerhalder directed his second episode of the series this season with “Days of Future Past,” which aired April 1. He also directed an episode back in season 6.

“This episode was really a pivotal setting up the rest of the season, so it was a very different animal to begin with,” he told EW recently. “There was a lot of stuff to tell that was setting up for what was to come.”

He added, “We lost some amazing characters. And rather than what I attempted to do the last time I directed, which was shock the hell out of you, this one was about, let’s really tug on the heartstrings of the audience and really let them feel what these characters are feeling. And that is a very, very different dynamic.”

Somerhalder’s comments come after Kat Graham said season 8 of The Vampire Diaries would mark her final turn as Bonnie Bennett. Last year’s finale also saw the departure of Nina Dobrev, who played titular diarist Elena Gilbert.

“Nina has always said that if there’s something for her to do in the series finale that she will be there to do it,” executive producer Julie Plec said at the time. “When she left, she said, ‘I want to see this character to its end at the end of the show, so I can’t wait to come back and put her to bed again.’”
User avatar
WOODMO
Site Admin
Posts: 8273
Joined: March 14th, 2008, 12:46 pm
Location: Long Island, New York

Re: Ian Somerhalder says 'Vampire Diaries' will end after season 8

Post by WOODMO »

It's for the best, especially with Kat leaving after next season.
User avatar
cmshowstopper
Marked Out Master
Posts: 1840
Joined: June 6th, 2009, 6:32 pm
Location: New Cumberland, PA
Contact:

Re: Ian Somerhalder says 'Vampire Diaries' will end after season 8

Post by cmshowstopper »

WOODMO wrote:It's for the best, especially with Kat leaving after next season.
I agree it is for the best, but not because Kat is leaving. I love Bonnie and always hoped she might cross over to The Originals, as I could see her fitting into that world....but the show has run its course and has completely veered off of what made this show so great for 4 seasons. It really started with Elena's vampire turn. It might sound cliched, but the show lost its humanity. Everyone just started to become supernatural or died, cept Matt. And now this season, the whole town and its people have been casted out and only the supernatural live there.

What I loved about Damon's character was his inner battle within himself over right and wrong. He wanted acceptance. But the character, unlike many on the show, failed to ever evolve. He's the same guy he was in season 1 having the same inner turmoil. Not even when Elena chose him, which was supposed to be the thing that he needed to find the true Damon...did Damon finally take that step forward. I really felt like Klaus took the Damon role in season 4 anyway and eventually lead to the Originals.

Stefan went from triumphant hero with a dark past to the guy who gets fucked up the ass and just takes it. Lexi, Elena...now Caroline? Caroline and Alaric? WTF?! And EWW! He was her history professor freshman year and was married planning a family a few years before even coming to Mystic Falls. Basically Stefan became neutered and lost the respect of the rest of the gang.

Caroline and Bonnie are 2 characters that have evolved. The show did a great job with this, especially Caroline. Caroline season 1 and Caroline season 7 are very different people. The show, the events, the heartbreak, the loss, etc....has reshaped Caroline. Zero doubt that the show truly did justice by her. Bonnie also has evolved quite a bit. She has come into her own, but she got a bit sidetracked with her death, loss of magic story, expression, etc. And Matt also saw some growth. The idea that Matt become Sheriff....I think that makes sense. He cant leave Mystic Falls...hes a townie.

The show itself lost its identity and direction. It substituted creative storytelling with jaw dropping moments for gratuitous deaths and overly complicated storylines that would eventually contradict the ground work the show was built on. I know that Elena in the books is turned. So I knew it was gonna happen eventually in the show. However, she turned into a raving lunatic bitch. And she never regained the sweet innocence she once had. While that kind of keeps with the theme of being turned...it happens over time. Damon was a really nice, good person when he was human. He didnt turn into a dick the moment he was embraced. It took decades for him to evolve. Caroline is one we see from human to vamp throughout the show and she also evolves over time. Elena just did a 180 within like 2 episodes. I really feel this was the moment that the show jump the shark. This led to the whole Stefan's doppelganger Silas, search for the cure,Bonnie's death, Jeremy's resurrection, etc.

I hope season 8 is the last. And I hope Ian is right and we get a proper closing season. 23 episodes to build to an epic finale and a possibility of some of these characters crossing over to Originals has me really excited. I want these characters to get back to basics, evolve and do some great dramatic storytelling. And I would love to see 1 or 2 of them to head to New Orleans, especially Caroline. I wantewd Alaric to as well, but now with the twins....meh. Doesnt seem to work as well.
Image
Post Reply