The Vampire Diaries is an American supernatural horror romance television series created by Kevin Williamson based on the novels of the same name by author L. J. Smith. It was officially picked up for the 2009–10 season on May 19, 2009. It premiered on September 10, 2009, on The CW and received the highest ratings for a series premiere in the network's history at that point, scoring 4.91million live viewers. The series focuses on the fictional town of Mystic Falls, Virginia, that is charged with supernatural history. It follows Elena Gilbert portrayed by Nina Dobrev as she begins to get over her parents' death, when two vampires pull her into a world she didn't know before, Stefan and Damon Salvatore, portrayed by Paul Wesley and Ian Somerhalder, respectively. Kayla Ewell portrayed Vicki Donovan for the first seven episodes until her character was killed off. Matt Davis was later cast as a history teacher in a recurring role to fill the void. He was later upgraded to series regular status. The season concluded on May 13, 2010, and consisted of 22 episodes. Cast Starring Nina Dobrev as Elena Gilbert / Katherine Pierce Paul Wesley as Stefan Salvatore Ian Somerhalder as Damon Salvatore Steven R. McQueen as Jeremy Gilbert Sara Canning as Jenna Sommers Kat Graham as Bonnie Bennett Candice Accola as Caroline Forbes Zach Roerig as Matt Donovan Kayla Ewell as Vicki Donovan Michael Trevino as Tyler Lockwood Matt Davis as Alaric Saltzman Recurring Malese Jow as Anna Marguerite MacIntyre as Liz Forbes Robert Pralgo as Richard Lockwood Kelly Hu as Pearl Susan Walters as Carol Lockwood Chris Johnson as Logan Fell Jasmine Guy as Sheila Bennett David Anders as John Gilbert Sterling Sulieman as Harper Chris William Martin as Zach Salvatore Bianca Lawson as Emily Bennett Melinda Clarke as Kelly Donovan Mia Kirshner as Isobel Flemming Guest Benjamin Ayres as William Tanner Sean Faris as Ben McKittrick Stephen Martines as Frederick James Remar as Giuseppe Salvatore Arielle Kebbel as Lexi Branson Gina Torres as Bree Brandon Quinn as Lee Dillon Casey as Noah Amanda Detmer as Trudie Peterson Spencer Locke as Amber Bradley Mike Erwin as Charlie David Anders as John Gilbert Cindy Busby as Brooke Fenton Notes Episodes Production On February 6, 2009, Variety announced that The CW had greenlit the pilot for The Vampire Diaries with Kevin Williamson and Julie Plec set as the head writers and executive