By RODNEY HO/rho@ajc.com, filed January 11, 2015
The zombies in metro Atlanta may get more attention over on "The Walking Dead" but the CW's "The Vampire Diaries" has been around even longer, shot mostly in Covington. And their fans have rewarded them with solid ratings since 2009.
Today, the CW renewed its entire fall slate, including "The Vampire Diaries" and its spin-off show also shot in Atlanta "The Originals." Other shows renewed: well-regarded newbies "Jane the Virgin" (season 2) and "The Flash" (season 2) along with "Reign" (season 3), "Arrow"(season 4), "The 100" (season 3) and its long-running "Supernatural" (season 11).
It's rare for a network to renew everything. The CW, as this Vox reporter noted, was written off as dead or dying two years ago but has built itself up as an interesting niche network which also includes an odd array of reality programming including "Whose Line Is It Anyway," veteran "America's Next Top Model" and "Penn & Teller: Fool Us."
"The Vampire Diaries" has been given 22 more episodes for the 2015-16 season, its seventh year.
In additions, cast regular Steven R. McQueen, who plays lead Elena's younger brother, is planning to leave after episode 14 but might return for cameos. Executive producer Julie Plec told EW: "We're in the third act of our storytelling of the show. Everything that we're doing is moving towards the end. Over the course of the next few years, we will need to start having the characters make choices about what they want with their lives and say goodbye to some people. It's all part of moving toward the end, however long that takes."
It's unclear how much longer the CW will keep "The Vampire Diaries" around. The three primary stars - Ian Somerhadler, Nina Dobrev and Paul Wesley - have stuck it out in Atlanta and have become fixtures around town.
The show has aired 121 episodes to date, the next new one airing January 22.
"The Originals" is in its second season and has been given a third.
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