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Will Nina Dobrev quitting, combined with Nikki Reed and Ian Somerhalder’s wedding, mean a death knell for The Vampire Diaries on the CW?

According to insiders, the show was already nearing its expiration date before the aforementioned events, and now that date is fast approaching.

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The Hollywood Gossip Logo

Not even a month after Nina Dobrev quit The Vampire Diaries, effective this spring, Nikki Reed and Ian Somerhalder secretly married in L.A.

The backstory needs little introduction at this point:

  • Ian and Nina used to date in real life, and on the show;
  • They kept things very much on the DL off the show;
  • They broke up and things on the show got weird;
  • The show began to get pretty bad around then;
  • Ian and Nikki got together, and VERY publicly;
  • Nina quit, and Ian and Nikki tied the knot.

Yes, the series can theoretically continue with her gone, but as the main character, will anyone watch The Vampire Diaries online without Dobrev?

Has the once massively-popular CW show long ago peaked, albeit having regained some footing this year en route to a natural end point?

With the central romance (Delena), the main actress (Elena, Katherine, et al), and organic storytelling pretty much gone, is it time to sign off?

There are other terrific characters, and again, this year has not been bad. But Nina Dobrev and Ian Somerhalder have always been the glue.

If one of them is gone and the other is married to a vampire from a different saga (sorry), will the die-hards still be as invested in the program?

There’s also the matter of the rest of other stars’ contract statuses. Nina didn’t just up and quit, she announced she is leaving after her deal is up.

That’s this season. Same is true for all the original cast members, meaning they have to re-up … or decide it’s been real and ride off into the sunset.

Depending on who’s game, the show could end up dying off through attrition. What do you think? Should TVD be canceled without its lead?