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The fact that The Vampire Diaries recently re-entered the Netflix Top 10 after returning to the streaming service proves that the Twilight reboot can succeed, despite one obvious issue with its premise. Based on the book series of the same name by author LJ Smith, The Vampire Diaries was a supernatural drama that aired on the CW between 2009 and 2017.
Although the original show lasted eight seasons, The Vampire Diaries also spawned two spinoffs during its eight-year run. The Originals ran from 2013 until 2018, and that spinoff was soon replaced by Legacies, a lighter, campier take on The Vampire Diaries universe that was set in a magical school.
Legacies lasted four seasons from 2018 until 2022, but neither spinoff managed to replicate the mainstream success of The Vampire Diaries. Developed by Julie Plec and Scream screenwriter Kevin Williamson, The Vampire Diaries arrived just in time to cash in on the success of Twilight and True Blood, offering a perfect middle ground between the two vampire franchises.
The Vampire Diaries Lasted 8 Seasons and Spawned 2 Spinoffs
Paul Wesley as Stefan looking serious in The Vampire Diaries
Based on the Southern Vampire Mysteries novel series by author Charlaine Harris, True Blood was a gory, R-rated, and extremely explicit HBO hit that offered a more mature take on vampires, werewolves, and supernatural romance. In contrast, the Twilight books and their movie adaptations were more family-friendly, something that helped the movie series become one of the most successful ever.
Although the movies featured some darker moments, like Rosalie Hale’s Twilight backstory, they were firmly pitched at a PG-13 audience. This allowed Twilight to become arguably the biggest teen sensation of the late ‘00s, with each new movie in the series outdoing the last at the box office save for 2011’s The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 1.
Ironically enough, True Blood’s tone was much more playful and campy than that of the Twilight movies, despite how much more nudity and gore the HBO show featured. The Twilight movies were incredibly self-serious, prompting many parodies, and this allowed The Vampire Diaries to find a perfect niche between these two extremes.
Less winking than True Blood but more self-aware than Twilight, The Vampire Diaries managed to strike a delicate tonal balance that kept its tragic elements tragic while also offering viewers some comedic relief. Like Williamson’s Scream movies, the series blended some surprisingly harsh, dark twists with an ever-present sense of humor.
As such, it was not a shock when the show managed to spawn a spinoff. However, the fact that this spinoff got a spinoff of its own, and both shows lasted more than three seasons, was an undeniably impressive achievement. By the time Legacies ended in 2022, the vampire craze of the ‘00s had ended almost a decade earlier.
The Enduring Popularity of The Vampire Diaries Proves Twilight’s TV Spinoff Can Work
Kristen Stewart as Bella Swan in The Twilight Saga Breaking Dawn Part 2
The fact that it took no time at all for viewers to rush back to The Vampire Diaries when the classic CW series arrived on Netflix proves that Twilight’s upcoming animated spinoff can also succeed. Based on the 2020 novel Midnight Sun, this series is set to adapt the perspective-flipped version of the original Twilight novel to the small screen for the streaming giant.
Author Stephanie Meyer’s Midnight Sun was a massive global bestseller upon its release, proving that readers were eager to revisit the world of the series. Rather than telling a new story set in the same fictional world, Midnight Sun retold the events of the saga's first novel Twilight from the perspective of Edward Cullen instead of its original protagonist, Bella Swan.
After the novel’s success, rumors emerged in 2023 that Midnight Sun could be the vehicle used to bring Twilight back to screens soon. In 2024, an animated adaptation of Midnight Sun received a straight-to-series order from Netflix. Sinead Daly, best known for the Hulu relationship drama Tell Me Lies, is developing the reboot.
The Vampire Diaries Highlights The Biggest Risk of Twilight’s Reboot
Since the cast of the original Twilight movies have gone on to major blockbuster careers, it always seemed unlikely that they would be able to return for the Netflix series. However, there is another, even bigger issue with their potential comeback. The main characters of the saga are teenagers, and their actors are now in their late 30s.
This means that Edward, Bella, and Jacob Black would inevitably need to be recast, which shouldn’t be an issue for all but the most ardent fans. However, the Netflix success of The Vampire Diaries is a reminder that recasting these franchises isn’t so simple. Nina Dobrev, Paul Wesley, and Ian Somerhalder were a pivotal part of the CW show’s success.
Both The Vampire Diaries and the original Twilight movies relied very heavily on their cast to sell them, with fan wars over Robert Pattinson’s Edward and Taylor Lautner’s Jacob becoming global front-page news when the movies were first released. Thus, like The Vampire Diaries, the next Twilight project will have big shoes to fill when it comes to casting.
Release Date 2009 - 2017-00-00
Showrunner Julie Plec
Directors John Dahl
Writers Julie Plec, Kevin Williamson, L.J. Smith
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