Legacies canceled at The CW means the end of The Vampire Diaries franchise

The CW's teen vampire era has come to an end. In a shocking move, the network has canceled Legacies after four seasons.

The Vampire Diaries, based on the YA books by bestselling author L. J. Smith, premiered in 2009 and ran for eight seasons – becoming The CW's most popular show until before Riverdale's takeover in 2017. The series, developed by Kevin Williamson and Julie Plec, centered on Elena Gilbert (Nina Dobrev), a teenage girl trapped in a love triangle with an 162-year-old vampire named Stefan Salvatore (Paul Wesley) and his brother Damon (Ian Somerhalder). The show's first spin-off, The Originals, debuted in 2013 and ran simultaneously alongside The Vampire Diaries – starring several actors from the flagship show.

Legacies, a second spin-off starring Danielle Rose Russell's character in The Originals, was ordered to series in 2018. The show primarily took place at Salvatore School for the Young and Gifted, a school for teenage ghosts, witches, werewolves, etc. ran by human and former vampire hunter Alaric Saltzman (Matthew Davis) – a choice we're still a little confused about.

Ahead of its upcoming sale, The CW canceled seven shows including Legacies and Roswell: New Mexico, both executive produced by Plec. Fans have rightfully been in mourning, as the cancellation of the franchise's third spin-off (including The Originals: Awakening web series) means that its 13-year run on the network has come to an official end.

Plec's next project involves adapting Richelle Mead's Vampire Academy books into an original series for Peacock. Paul Wesley has been cast as James T. Kirk in Star Trek: Strange New Worlds on Paramount Plus.

Lauren Milici is a Senior Entertainment Writer for GamesRadar+ based in New York City. She previously reported on breaking news for The Independent's Indy100 and created TV and film listicles for Ranker. Her work has been published in Fandom, Nerdist, Paste Magazine, Vulture, PopSugar, Fangoria, and more.