Hundreds upon hundreds of TV shows have passed through The CW in the nearly two decades since it took over for the WB in 2006, but only a handful of those shows will go down in history as the network’s most popular. The Vampire Diaries — based on the book series of the same name by L. J. Smith — is one such show. Its legions of fans stuck around for eight full seasons, from 2009 to 2017, but its main lead, Paul Wesley, admits he was already losing steam about halfway through.
Speaking with Michael Rosenbaum on his podcast Inside of You with Michael Rosenbaum, Wesley admits he was “so tired and so exhausted” that he stopped interacting with coworkers on set.
“It’s such a grind doing a show for so long. I remember, like, there were days I just got very — I did the opposite. I just wouldn’t interact, I was just so tired and so exhausted. I would do my job, say my lines, I always knew what I was doing, I always knew my lines, but I didn’t interact as much and that’s something I regret.
“I wish I was a little bit more like ‘You know what? We’re all here, we’re all family’ and I didn’t take it as seriously as I did. That’s the one thing I kind of wish I did.”
Wesley’s response was prompted by Rosenbaum’s personal experience sharing his desire for keeping morale high on set through cracking jokes, entertaining crew members, and ensuring everyone had a good time. A series lead’s influence carries weight on the set, but, as Rosenbaum explained, it can also lead to burnout, to which Wesley could relate.
Wesley did clarify that this didn’t persist throughout the whole time he starred on the show, just “toward the ends ‘cause I was just so exhausted.” In all honestly, the fact that his biggest regret is wishing he’d given his colleagues more time and attention underlines why the fandom admired him so much in the first place.
The Vampire Diaries concluded its 171st episode on March 10, 2017, two seasons after Nina Dobrev left the show as Elena Gilbert. Although it saw some road bumps along the way, it concluded its final season with a perfect 100% critic score on Rotten Tomatoes. It also inspired The CW spin-off series — The Originals — which also saw several of its own 100% critic scores on Rotten Tomatoes.
Six years have passed since The Vampire Diaries concluded. Should you now have the hankering to revisit the beloved supernatural teen drama, as well as its spin-offs, here’s the perfect watch order for you.