The Vampire Diaries ended with Dr. Elena Salvatore opening a family clinic in Mystic Falls. It's still there in the timeline of the spinoff Legacies. Knowing that, it would be perfectly reasonable to see Nina Dobrev and/or Ian Somerhalder's Damon Salvatore on Legacies. That said, you can imagine how likely that is. Actually, you don't just have to imagine, because Nina Dobrev just answered a Legacies appearance question while promoting her new CBS show Fam:
I have a full time job here [on Fam], so I don't know that I can. But I'm excited and happy to see that the show is living on, and it's a testament to the show itself that people love it so much and have a hunger for it and have an appetite that they need to satiate. So spin-off after spin-off --- that means it's a good thing... Julie Plec is the new Shonda Rhimes; she has like 95,000 shows on the air. She's a force.
It's good to see Nina Dobrev still supporting The Vampire Diaries Universe. What she's not saying to TV Guide is that her new CBS show Fam was given a Season 1 2019 timeslot of Thursdays at 9:30 p.m., so it will directly compete against 9-10 p.m. Legacies for half an hour each week. Not sure whose idea that was, but I can't see it helping either show.
Nina Dobrev is right about Julie Plec, though. She is The CW's Shonda Rhimes. The Vampire Diaries Universe is now a thing, thanks to Julie Plec. She was a co-creator of The Vampire Diaries, creator of The Originals, and creator of the joint spinoff Legacies. She'll probably get a huge deal from Netflix soon, since that seems to be the path mega-showrunners like Shonda Rhimes, Ryan Murphy, etc.
The Vampire Diaries is pretty rare in that it has produced two successful (so far) spinoffs in The Originals and now Legacies. Nina Dobrev seems proud of the franchise, as she should be, but she's one of the least likely to return for a Legacies cameo, and not just because of her new show.
Nina Dobrev famously left The Vampire Diaries after Season 6, and only returned for the finale in Season 8. Most of the core Vampire Diaries stars have decided to move on after the series ended in 2017, with the key exception of Matt Davis, whose Alaric Saltzman is a main character of Legacies. (Zach Roerig's Matt Donovan and Steven R. McQueen's Jeremy Gilbert are billed as special guest stars, not meant to appear often. Jodi Lyn O'Keefe made a brief and emotional return as Jo Laughlin.)
Legacies is set at the Salvatore School, which features The Stefan Salvatore memorial library. Stefan actor Paul Wesley recently returned to Mystic Falls to direct an episode of Legacies. Since Stefan met a very definitive end in The Vampire Diaries series finale, it does make sense that he has shut the door on a return as an actor.
Ian Somerhalder could theoretically return as Damon Salvatore, but he has also moved on from The Vampire Diaries, and he recently finished filming the first season of his Netlix series V-Wars. But he recently got nostalgic for Mystic Falls and shared a set photo from TVD filming.
It's clear there's still love for the show, including from Nina Dobrev, who said she was happy for fans to still support this universe. Her new CBS comedy Fam -- well, it already fired its showrunner for alleged workplace misconduct. So that's not the best start. However, the show soldiered on and will premiere Thursday, January 10 at 9:30 p.m. in a cushy lineup following The Big Bang Theory, Young Sheldon, and Mom.
That lead-in should help Fam get off to a good start on CBS. However, competing against Legacies is unfortunate timing for The Vampire Diaries fans who want to honor both the spinoff and the original TVD star.
We're always rooting for Nina Dobrev, but should Fam not be a hit with fans, she's always welcome back in Mystic Falls. Kaylee Bryant, who plays Jose Saltzman on Legacies, told CinemaBlend the spinoff has an open door policy with all Vampire Diaries actors -- not just Candice King, although Caroline would be the most welcome of all on the spinoff.
Legacies returns from midseason break on Thursday, January 24 at 9 p.m. on The CW. Fam premieres Thursday, January 10 at 9:30 p.m. on CBS. Here's what else is ahead for midseason 2019 TV.
