The Vampire Diaries
The series premiere of "The Vampire Diaries" on September 10, 2009, gave The CW its biggest series premiere, scoring 4.91 million viewers. Adding in DVR numbers, the ratings for the premiere swelled to an official 5.7 million viewers. In 2016, a "New York Times" study of the 50 TV shows with the most Facebook Likes found that "as with several other shows that focus on the supernatural", "The Vampire Diaries" was "slightly more popular outside of cities. That said, the show's fandom has the smallest amount of spatial variation of all 50 shows".
Ian Somerhalder
In June 2009, Somerhalder was cast in the role of Vampire Damon Salvatore as a series regular in The CW television drama series "The Vampire Diaries". The series premiere attracted The CW's highest premiere ratings of any season premiere since the network began in 2006. The series has continued to be the highest rated series on its channel with both Somerhalder's performance and the show receiving a positive response from critics. Somerhalder began directing The Vampire Diaries in its third season and produced the series at the start of season 8. Somerhalder has received several Teen Choice Award's and a People's Choice Award for his participation on the series.