TVD went down as the ultimate vampire series and most fans of the series argue that they haven’t found anything as impressive as the hit show. It is normal to feel dissatisfied by low-budget options after a huge series like Vampire Diaries though. However, there are still lots of options that every TVD fan would love to binge on. If you miss Damon and Elena so much, then these 10 TV shows may soothe your thirst until the next big vampire series comes out.
V Wars
V Wars was supposed to be the next big thing after Netflix recruited Ian Somerhalder as the lead actor on the series. The series was cancelled after just one season but still gave many TVD fans an opportunity to reconnect with their favourite moments and actors. The series is about a viral outbreak that turns human beings into vampires creating a race of hybrids called the Bloods. A war then breaks out between humans and vampires and DR. Luther Swann (Ian Somerhalder) is the only man that could bring an end to the chaos; Or is he? The 10-episode series has all the thrill you would expect from Vampire Diaries and more.
Van Helsing
The Yellowstone Caldera erupts and the whole world is covered in ash blocking sunlight from reaching the ground which allows vampires to walk freely on Earth. The vampires ravage the world causing the government to fail and millions of people to turn on one another as vampires convert human beings into food until Venessa Van Helsing, (a descendant of the famous vampire hunter Abraham Van Helsing) wakes up from a coma and realizes that her blood is the key to curing humanity of vampirism. She realizes that she has to deal with a version of Originals led by the worst vampire named the Dark One and the battle between Van Helsings and Dark Ones become bloody and complicated creating a whole new version of TVD.
Penny Dreadful
“You may be done with hell but hell is not done with you” Are the words that accompany Venessa Ives as she struggles with an enemy that has been after her soul since the dawn of time. The show takes you to Victorian London where three men are forced to come together and save Venessa from having the dark world consume her as Lucifer himself seeks her for a bride. The three seasons of the show follow the events of a dark world as lucifer’s agents including a group of witches and Dracula himself try to kill Venessa who keeps on running to save her soul. It is the closest you will come to the battle between the Vampires in TVD and The Originals.
True Blood
In the town of Bon Temp, Louisiana, Vampires, werewolves, witches, gods and even fairies coexist with human beings and a synthetic blood component created by scientists allow vampires to walk around openly. The series follows the life of Sookie Stackhouse and a hybrid between a human and a fairy who falls in love with a 173-year-old vampire. It is more like a recreation of the love between Elena and the Salvador brothers in TVD and the war between evil and good is just as thrilling as it was in Vampire Diaries. The show ended in 2014 after seven thrilling seasons and its 80 episodes should be more than enough to binge on if you miss TVD.
Vampires
Who knew that one of the most thrilling tales about vampires could be created in France? The Netflix show was created by the French film producer Benjamin Dupas and the first season aired on the streaming service in March 2020.
The show follows the life of a human-vampire hybrid girl called Doina who struggles to keep her thirst and powers undetected by taking pills. She is forced to put her abilities to use as she has to fight with a secret vampire sect that is seeking to kill her. It is more like a modernized version of TVD where vampires struggle to exists in the human world and have a normal life.
Riverdale
TVD remains the all-time best teen drama for many fans which is why any Vampire Diaries fan will enjoy the thrilling drama in Riverdale. The show which employs an ensemble cast follows mysterious happenings around the death of one teenager named Jason and mysterious disappearances within the town. The show which has been renewed for another season to be released in November 2021 follows the lives of the teenagers as they struggle with their own love and career lives while dealing with mysterious truths about their towns just like The Vampire Diaries.
Bitten
Elena Michaels has a difficult choice of either ditching her werewolf pack in New York to live with her human boyfriend in Toronto or living by her obligations as a werewolf. It becomes worse when she has to deal with her ex-fiancé who turned her into a werewolf in the first place and who doesn’t approve of her human boyfriend. As things get tougher, the three seasons of the Canadian show descends into a war involving vampires, werewolves and witches and things get more like TVD as you watch more.
Wayward Pines
Ethan Burke, a former secret service agent finds himself in the mysterious town of Wayward Pines Idaho where he can neither contact the outside world nor leave. Leaving the town is punishable by public execution, and those who try to leave have nowhere to go really because the rest of the world is inhabited by mutated humans who enjoy feeding on humans.
It turns out that Wayward Pines is the last place on Earth inhabited by human beings but the man that created the haven is himself a psychopath who wants to control people and make himself a god of sorts. The two seasons of the show follow generations of people caught up in the battles between the survival of humanity and freedom to choose.
Shadowhunters
Clary Fray had just been accepted into the Brooklyn Academy of Arts and while celebrating her achievement, she realizes that there is a world that only she can see. It turns out that she is a hybrid between an angel and a human being and that her destiny is to lead a group of Shadowhunters who hunt and stop demons from destroying humanity. That mission becomes inevitable when her mother is kidnapped by a group of cultists led by her biological father who wants to force information about the Mortal Cup out of her. Things get darker and bloodier into the second season. With over 50 episodes to watch, you won’t miss TVD while watching this show.
Being Human
A 200-year old vampire and a werewolf move into a home that is haunted by a ghost named Sally. Now, it is strange for ghosts to haunt supernatural beings, but as it turned out, these three superhumans actually needed one another more than they realized. The short series based on a BBC drama with the same name follows the lives of the ghost, the vampire and the werewolf as they try to fit in in the human world.