Teen drama TV show The Vampire Diaries—based on the books by L.J. Smith (well, books that were published under that name)—followed teen romance and the struggles of protecting the town of Mystic Falls, Virginia from vampires, werewolves, witches, and ghosts.

The show, developed by Kevin Williamson and Julie Plec, aired 2009-2017. The concepts and characters developed in the series managed to set in motion a media brand with more TV shows, novels, web series, and comic books.

The video below takes you behind the scenes—looking at the drama, mistakes, and rewrites that were happening behind the cameras in Mystic Falls…

Top 10 Behind the Scenes Secrets About The Vampire Diaries | MsMojo

Further reading

• Who WROTE the Vampire Diaries books? Don’t believe the name on the cover…

• Vampire Diaries: Why creator L.J. Smith writes strong female characters

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Further reading online

• 'Vampire Academy' Showrunners on Adapting the Books, Fan Reactions, and Looking Forward (Collider)

• 10 Best Friendships in The Vampire Diaries (CBR)

• Sink Your Teeth Into The Best Vampire Books (Refinery29)

• The Vampire Diaries: 15 Major Differences Between The Books & The TV Show (Screen Rant)

• 20 Best Vampire Books of All Time (Esquire)

• The 20 Greatest Vampire TV Shows of All Time (MovieWeb)

• The Best Vampire Books To Read, Twilight And Beyond (Today Show)

• Sink Your Teeth Into These Juicy Vampire Diaries' Secrets (E! Online)

• Paul Wesley Opens up About His One Major Regret From 'The Vampire Diaries' (We Got This Covered)

• Vampire Writer L.J. Smith Bites Back (Wall Street Journal)

• Paul Wesley about recent Vampire Diaries comments, and how Star Trek differs (Cinemablend)

• 9 Books Like Vampire Academy (Bingeful)

• 10 Best 'Vampire Diaries' Plot Twists, Ranked (Collider)