The Vampire Diaries is an American supernatural teen drama. Developed by Kevin Williamson and Julie Plec, the show is based on a book series of the same name. L. J. Smith wrote the book series, and the TV show aired on the CW Network from 2009 until 2017. Nina Dobrev portrayed the main character, Elena Gilbert. Fans now want to see more shows like The Vampire Diaries.
Well, if that is the case, we have you covered. For starters, the concepts of the show launched a media franchise with other television series, web series, novels, comic books, and more. The Originals is a spinoff TV show from The Vampire Diaries.
The Vampire Diaries is a show set in the fictional town of Mystic Falls, Virginia. The town is charged with supernatural history. The show follows the life of Elena Gilbert, a teenage girl who lost both her parents in a car accident. She falls in love with a 162-year-old vampire named Stefan Salvatore, played by Paul Wesley.
Their relationship is the overarching story of the show. Things get complicated when Stefan’s mysterious older brother returns and bring back their past love, Katherine Pierce. Katherine is a vampire who looks exactly like Elena. Dobrev plays Katherine as well.
The love triangle is the main storyline, but there are other storylines in the show. Blood, lust, sex, violence, drama, The Vampire Diaries has everything. And like other TV shows of the supernatural genre, the show has its own definition of death. In The Vampire Diaries, people die and then come back, and die again, only to be revived once again.
With that in mind, let’s take a look at other shows like The Vampire Diaries.
The Originals
When discussing shows like The Vampire Diaries, we have to start with The Originals. It is a direct spinoff of TVD. This show follows the vampire-werewolf hybrid Klaus Mikaelson and his family. They move to New Orleans, where they face a whole new set of challenges and problems.
Klaus and his family were the first vampires ever to exist. That is why they are called The Originals.
Legacies
Moving on to another fantasy drama, this one premiered on the CW Network. It is a spinoff of The Originals. Legacies features characters from both The Originals and The Vampire Diaries.
Danielle Rose Russell is the main character, the 17-year-old Hope Mikaelson. She continues her role from the fifth and final season of The Originals.
Hope is descended from one of the most powerful vampires, werewolves, and witch bloodlines. The show is set two years after the events of The Originals.
Teen Wolf
If you love the supernatural and drama of TVD, you have to check Teen Wolf. It is an American supernatural teen drama series developed for MTV. It is loosely based on the 1985 film of the same name.
This time, the main character, Scott McCall, is a high school student living in the fictional California town of Beacon Hills. Played by Tyler Posey, the main character becomes the eponymous teenage werewolf after he is beaten by an alpha werewolf. He now has to balance his new identity with day-to-day teenage life. Scott has to protect his hometown while learning to balance his supernatural powers.
Supernatural
Fans of supernatural creatures and events have to watch Supernatural. The show has everything you want, including demons, vampires, werewolves, ghosts, evil creatures, and everything else in between. The series follows two brothers as they hunt supernatural beings.
Jared Padalecki plays Sam Winchester and Jensen Ackles plays Dean Winchester, the two brothers. The series was filmed in Vancouver, British Columbia. The surrounding area was in development for almost 10 years, as creator Kripke spent years pitching it.
He was responsible for the first five seasons that concluded his story. The show continued for 10 more seasons with new showrunners.
True Blood
This fantasy and horror television series was based on The Southern Vampire Mysteries, a series of novels by Charlaine Harris. At the moment, producers are developing a reboot of the series.
Some people might say that True Blood was not worth watching. Yes, the plot is a bit messy initially, but it gets better.
After all, the show lasted for seven seasons. And if you love vampire shows, you need to give it a shot. The main character is Sookie Stackhouse, a telepathic waitress living in a fictional town. The show is set two years after the invention of a synthetic blood product titled Tru Blood. This product allows vampires to come out of the coffin and show their presence to mankind.
Sleepy Hollow
When we talk about supernatural shows like The Vampire Dairies, we cannot ignore Sleepy Hollow. The TV show aired on Fox from September 2013 until March 2017.
It is loosely based on the 1820 short story The Legend of Sleepy Hollow by Washington Irving. But there are concepts from other stories by the author.
The first three seasons are in the fictionalized version of Sleepy Hollow, New York, portraying the town as much larger than it actually is. The fourth and final season moved the action to Washington DC.
Smallville
Alfred Gough and Miles Millar developed this supernatural and superhero television series. It is loosely based on characters from DC Comics, namely Superman.
The TV show follows the coming-of-age adventures of teenage Clark Kent, played by Tom Welling. He lives in the fictional hometown of Smallville, Kansas.
The show ends with him finally becoming the Man of Steel. Producers initially proposed a series about Batman, but it didn’t generate interest. So, they continued with an origin story about Superman.
The Flash
Speaking about superhero series, let’s continue with Flash. It still airs on Fox, but the last few seasons are not as good. Developed by Greg Berlanti, the show is based on the Barry Allen incarnation of the scarlet speedster in DC Comics.
The series premiered as a spinoff from Arrow, existing in the same fictional universe known as the Arrowverse.
Arrow
This is the show that helped the CW Network create the Arrowverse. Greg Berlanti, Marc Guggenheim, and Andrew Kreisberg developed the series based on the DC Comics character Green Arrow.
Arrow is a darker and grittier show. It follows billionaire playboy Oliver Queen, played by Stephen Amell, and his story about becoming the masked vigilante.
It takes a new look at the Green Arrow character, as well as other characters from the DC Universe.
Charmed
Going back to fantasy and supernatural television series with magic, we have to mention one of the best shows like The Vampire Diaries, Charmed.
It is a reboot of the WB series of the same name, which originally aired from 1998 to 2006. No, this is not the Charmed of the late 1990s and early 2000s.
The first three seasons follow the lives of sisters Macy, Mel, and Maggie. They are played by Madeleine Mantock, Melonie Diaz, and Sarah Jeffery. After the death of their mother, they discover they are the Charmed Ones, the most powerful trio of good witches that have to protect the world from demons and dark forces.
The reboot is more diverse than the original series. It cast three women of color in the lead roles. It also made one of the sisters a lesbian for LGB representation.
Once Upon a Time
If you want to watch some fairy tales with a dark twist, Once Upon a Time is the way to go. You get all the witches and supernatural creatures.
The fantasy adventure drama alternates between two main settings, a fantasy world of fairy tales and a fictional real world where these characters live and interact.
Most of the characters come from famous fairy tales by Brothers Grimm, Hans Christian Andersen, and popular western literature, folklore, Arthurian legend, Greek mythology, and original Disney characters.
The Walking Dead
If zombies are your thing, watch The Walking Dead. Set in post-apocalyptic horror, the show is based on the comic book series of the same name by Robert Kirkman.
The series features a large ensemble cast. They are the survivors of the zombie apocalypse, trying to stay alive under the constant threat of attacks from zombies known as “walkers”.
Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Let’s finish off the list of shows like The Vampire Diaries with other vampire shows. The first one is Buffy the Vampire Slayer, a supernatural drama with Sarah Michelle Gellar in the main role.
She is the latest in a line of young women known as Vampire Slayers. They are chosen by fate to battle against vampires, demons, and other supernatural dark forces.
Buffy wants to live a normal life, but she has to embrace her destiny and protect the people.
The show received critical acclaim. Gellar earned a nomination for a Golden Globe Award for her performance. The success of the show spawned other products, including comics, video games, novels, and more.
Angel
Angel is a spinoff series from Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Joss Whedon, the creator of Buffy, created Angel in collaboration with David Greenwalt.
Angel aired on The WB Network from October 1999 until May 2004. It details the ongoing trials of Angel, a vampire whose human soul was restored to him.
His restored soul torments him with guilt and remorse. He moves to Los Angeles and understands he cannot continue his doomed relationship with Buffy. So, he works as a private detective, where he helps the helpless restore their faith and saves the souls of those who have lost their way.
