The Vampire Diaries Fans Just Got Devastating Legacies News
The chopping block was well used on Thursday over at the CW, as seven series were canceled, including several reboots — "Charmed," "Roswell, New Mexico," "4400," and "Dynasty." Amid the bloodshed, one other cancellation stood out because of how it effectively wrapped up a long-running franchise and signaled the end of an era — sadly, it appears that the ongoing 4th season of "The Vampire Diaries" spin-off, "Legacies," will be the last.
"Legacies" picks up two years after the events of "The Originals" (becoming the third in the franchise) and follows Hope Mikalelson (Danielle Rose Russell) as she attends the Salvatore School for the Young and Gifted. As the title suggests, Hope goes through her adolescent years attempting to live up to her legendary parents, Klaus Mikaelson (Joseph Morgan) and Hayley Marshall (Phoebe Tonkin). She is the first-ever "tribrid" of the wolf, vampire, and witch bloodlines.
The series is nearing the end of the 4th season, with the final two episodes airing on June 9 and June 16. With just under 70 episodes scoring an average viewer rating of 8.1 (per Rating Graph) and the last season as a whole the strongest of the four according to those ratings, why the ax?
The cancellation was a business decision
The kind of heavy cancelations seen by The CW isn't typical for most years. 2019-20 cancellation numbers stayed lower than average (per The Hollywood Reporter), with less than half of first-year shows getting the ax. Even during the pandemic, there seemed to be patience with TV shows and letting them play out to regain traction. So why would a show that is doing well find itself canceled?
In a word, business. The Wall Street Journal reported earlier this year that The CW hasn't been profitable since its launch due to the focus on streaming platforms. With the network's financial backers, CBS Studios and Warner Bros, focusing on their respective streaming platforms, are looking to sell the network. Nexstar, a media group operating local stations in 116 markets (68% of all US television households), is the frontrunner to purchase The CW (per Variety).
While this puts the future of all CW properties in question, the news of the cancellation of "Legacies" marks the first time in 13 years, since the original "The Vampire Diaries" premiered in 2009, that the three-series franchise hasn't been on TV.