The Vampire Diaries has finally come to a close and it might be leaving a gigantic fanged hole in your life. While spin-off The Originals is set to fill the CW’s Friday vampiric time slot it might not quite scratch that bloody (and nighttime soap) itch for fans. If this situation describes you, here are five other shows to watch that might just soften the blow of losing The Vampire Diaries.
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Riverdale
Riverdale might lack the supernatural angle but it has everything else that Vampire Diaries fans could want. Riverdale is The CW’s spiritual successor to Vampire Diaries’ sexy teen throne. Riverdale doesn’t just have incredibly pretty faces, all of whom are in varying degrees of romance with one another just like The Vampire Diaries, it also shares a similar vibe. Riverdale takes place in a town that seems perfect but underneath the surface there are some compelling and creepy mysteries. Things probably won’t get quite as insane or bloody as The Vampire Diaries but if you’re looking for an addictive and mysterious teen drama that is much deeper than it initially appears, Riverdale is the perfect fit.
Riverdale season 1 currently airs Thursdays at 9/8c on The CW.
The 100
There are other CW offerings, though, that put their pedal to the insane soapy plot metal. If your favorite part of The Vampire Diaries was the way the show would tear thorough wild twists and turns with breakneck speed, The 100 is your new obsession. Like Riverdale, The 100 lacks the supernatural element but there is a science fiction bent to the show. Yet the way that the show approaches its storylines is very similar to The Vampire Diaries. The 100 is full of very likable but morally questionable characters making tons of hard decisions and putting the weight of the world on their shoulders just like the Mystic Falls crew. The 100 can go to some shockingly dark places at times but that is par for the course after watching eight very bloody years of The Vampire Diaries.
The 100, currently in season 4, airs Wednesdays at 9/8c on The CW.
Shadowhunters
Shadowhunters basically is The Vampire Diaries if it was told from the monster hunters’ perspective and those hunters weren’t complete sociopaths. Just like The Vampire Diaries, Shadowhunters is based on a popular young adult book series and just like The Vampire Diaries, Shadowhunters has diverted from its source material in exciting and shocking ways. There are tons of twists and turns with likable villains and even more likable heroes. Shadowhunters is everything a Vampire Diaries fan could want in a new show.
Shadowhunters, currently in season 2, will return on Monday, June 5 at 8/9c on Freeform.
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Jessica Jones
In the end, Vampire Diaries became more about Stefan and Damon than anyone else. The show always had strong female characters, however, and they were the selling points of the series. It’s hard to find a female hero who is stronger than Jessica Jones and there certainly aren’t many shows with female leads that match the same dark tone as The Vampire Diaries. In its first season on Netflix, Jessica Jones was light on mystery but the show does have that heart-pounding narrative that The Vampire Diaries did so well. If you’re missing the powerful ladies of Vampire Diaries like Caroline, Bonnie, Katherine and even Elena, Jessica should fill that hole in your life.
Jessica Jones season 1 is currently streaming on Netflix.
Teen Wolf
You won’t have long to enjoy Teen Wolf if you jump into the series now, as it is also ending in 2017. Yet if you have never seen Teen Wolf it has almost six seasons of soapy, sexy supernatural teen drama before you get to the end. The show should be the perfect salve for the wounds created by The Vampire Diaries‘ departure. In premise the two shows are practically identical. A young teenager is drawn into a world of supernatural creatures and they become the linchpin in saving an entire town of people. In the case of Teen Wolf it is werewolves not vampires at the heart of the show’s monster mythology. Teen Wolf has all the other elements of The Vampire Diaries. There’s the romance, the big plot twists and the bloody action but the monsters are just slightly hairier.
Teen Wolf will return for its final episodes in the summer but seasons 1-5 are available on Amazon Prime.
So which of these shows, if any, will you be watching? Are you already watching them all? Do you have any suggestions for Vampire Diaries fans? Sound off in the comments below?
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(Images courtesy of The CW, Freeform, Netflix and MTV)
Contributing Writer, BuddyTV
Derek is a Philadelphia based writer and unabashed TV and comic book junkie. The time he doesn’t spend over analyzing all things nerdy he is working on his resume to be the liaison to the Justice League.
