By RODNEY HO/ rho@ajc.com, originally filed Monday, April 11, 2016
Ian Somerhalder, a star on "The Vampire Diaries" since it came to Atlanta in 2009, said 2016-17 will likely be the show's eighth and final season.
He told a crowd at the Nashville Walker Stalker convention "We have decided to do one last season to really do the story justice," he said, according to the convention's official twitter account.
Kat Graham had told Us Weekly last week that next year will be her last no matter what.
Co-creator Julie Plec told E! News that the show's fortunes are tied with Somerhalder and Paul Wesley. If either of them want to leave, it makes sense to end the show.
The show, one of the first TV series to arrive in Atlanta after tax credits were boosted in 2008, has already survived the departure of Nina Dobrev after season six but ratings have fallen off since it was moved to Friday this season.
In fact, "The Vampire Diaries" is the longest-running Atlanta-based scripted series since 2008.
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