"The Vampire Diaries" is probably the biggest hit you have ever seen. Somerhalder, Wesley, and Dobrev are probably the hottest TV stars you've never seen before. Julie Plec is probably the greatest showrunner you've ever heard of.

"TVD" wasn't merely hot but smoking in the not-too far past—mainly the second and third seasons. "Diaries" in the early years was “Game of Thrones” in its current years, on steroids. Hyperbole was its natural wingman, or wing vampire, if you prefer. Every plot twist, every kiss, every death, and every un-death occasioned passionate fan debate.

Struggling desperately at the time, The CW Network lived to see another day, or at least launch the spinoff (“The Originals”) and a slate of superhero series that owe their existence to “The Vampire Diaries” and the slightly cooler-to-the-touch “Supernatural.”

Much of this unbearable “Vampire Diaries” hotness took place just below the surface, in places like Facebook, where flaming wars were waged over the simplest of questions, like “Damon or Stefan? Debate!”

Showrunner Plec, who with Kevin Williamson developed this monster, had worked on Williamson’s “Dawson Creek,” so she understood instantly what needed to be thrown into the pot. The obvious YA fiction themes included coming of age, dealing with loss, dealing with love, self-discovery, self-identity, and so on. Soap tropes were the next ingredient: The villain turns into a hero! She’s not your sister; she’s your mother! You think he or she's dead? Well, he or she's not!




The third ingredient was the magic, or maybe even the genius of “Diaries”: the love triangle that leads to death when broken.