The Vampire Diaries
The Vampire Diaries is an American supernatural drama television series developed by Kevin Williamson and Julie Plec, based on the popular book series of the same name written by L. J. Smith. The series premiered on The CW on September 10, 2009, and concluded on March 10, 2017, airing 171 episodes over eight seasons.
Daniel Gillies
Since 2002, Gillies has worked in Canadian and American film and television – at times simultaneously. Before landing lead roles in television series, Gillies landed guests spots on television shows such as "Masters of Horror", "NCIS", and "True Blood". In 2010, he was cast on the hit The CW drama "The Vampire Diaries" as Elijah Mikaelson. In 2013, CW created a successful spin-off of The Vampire Diaries chronicling the lives of the first (aka "the Original") vampires. Gillies' once recurring part as Elijah from The Vampire Diaries became a lead part in "The Originals." A potential nightmare existed for CW since Gillies was already under contract to play the playboy-ish Dr. Joel Goran in the supernatural series, "Saving Hope." Saving Hope initially aired in the US on NBC, but the series was not renewed although it continued to run in Canada. He continued both shows. In 2012, Gillies wrote, directed and starred with his wife Rachael Leigh Cook in "Broken Kingdom".