Vulture Watch

Will the very heart of Mystic Falls stop beating? Has The Vampire Diaries TV show been cancelled or renewed for a ninth season on The CW? The television vulture is watching for the latest cancellation and renewal news, so this page is a dedicated place to track the status of The Vampire Diaries season nine. You can bookmark this page or subscribe for the latest updates. Remember, the television vulture is watching your shows. Are you?  

What’s This TV Show About?

For its first six seasons on the The CW television network, The Vampire Diaries featured the love triangle between (the at first human and later vampire) Elena Gilbert (Nina Dobrev) and the blood-thirsty Brothers Salvatore, Stefan (Paul Wesley) and Damon (Ian Somerhalder). To account for Dobrev’s departure at the end of season six, the Elena character was placed in a magical coma that tied her life to that of her best friend, Bonnie Bennett (Kat Graham). When Bonnie dies someday, Elena will awaken, presumably to continue her love affair with Damon. Once he got over Elena, Stefan eventually began a relationship with Elena’s other best friend, Caroline Forbes (Candice King). Since Elena has been unconscious, Damon and Bonnie have grown closer.  The Vampire Diaries also stars Zach Roerig as Matt Donovan, Matthew Davis as Alaric Saltzman, and Michael Malarkey as Lorenzo “Enzo” St. John.

Season Eight Ratings

The eighth season of The Vampire Diaries averaged a 0.38 rating in the 18-49 demographic with 993,000 viewers. Compared to season seven, that’s down by 17% in the demo and down by 13% in terms of total viewers. The real ratings story though, is that for its first four seasons on the air, The Vampire Diaries was The CW’s top show. Find out how it stacks up against the other CW TV shows, these days.

Telly’s Take

The Vampire Diaries has been past its prime for some time now. That said, it wasn’t until its fifth season that Arrow overtook TVD as The CW’s number one series. The ratings have since continued to decline. Although it claimed other motives, last season — when The CW moved The Vampire Diaries and its spin-off series, The Originals, to Friday nights — it became clear the end was nigh. In its eighth and final season, this supernatural drama hasn’t even drawn an average of one million viewers. Season eight is a shorter season of just 16 episodes and there won’t be any season nine. For the fans, I hope there is a satisfying conclusion to the saga and that the series will rest in peace.

The Vampire Diaries Cancellation & Renewal Related Links

• TV show ratings are still important. Follow the weekly ups and downs.

• Check the rankings for all of The CW’s 2016-17 TV shows.

• How do this show’s ratings compare to other network TV shows?

• Find more Vampire Diaries TV series news or other CW TV show news.

• Explore The CW status page and other TV show status pages.

• Check out our lists of already cancelled and ended TV shows.

What do you think? Is The Vampire Diaries ending at the right time? Do you wish The CW had renewed it for a ninth season? When would you have chosen to end it?