Original Show: The Vampire Diaries
Spin-off Idea/ Description: Ten or so years after the end of The Vampire Diaries Lizzie and Josie Saltzman have grown into strong-willed and powerful young witches - thanks to the teachings of their parents Alaric and Caroline at the Salvatore Boarding School for the Young and Gifted. It is a school for untrained witches, werewolves and any person who has been adversely involved with the supernatural. There, they can come and learn more about it, particularly how to control it and use it for good. But when your parents are running the school, and your struggling to juggle teenage hormones and powerful magic, the girls soon start to rebel against their teachings and seek out information about their past that their parents have always tried to hide.
Possible Title Ideas: Young and Gifted, Coven Of Our Own, Magic Awaits, Within These Walls.
Idea originated from: During the events of The Vampire Diaries Finale 'I Was Feeling Epic' Caroline Forbes opens up 'The Salvatore Boarding School for the Young and Gifted' with the help of Alaric, Jeremy Gilbert and Dorian Williams, who all teach there.
Format: Serialised drama
The show would be similar to: The Vampire Diaries, The Originals, Charmed, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Hemlock Grove.
Will it feature any stars of it's parent show?: All the aforementioned characters. But wouldn't it be super cool if they could also bring Georgie back somehow to keep Alaric company?
How about any of guest stars?: There's the opportunity for plenty, but you wouldn't want too many too often lest it become a Vampire Diaries reunion series. Bonnie, Matt and Peter could show up every now and then. And there's plenty of other Vampire Diaries characters that could come back for this series like Valerie Tuelle or Kai Parker. And that's not to mention anyone from The Originals.
Possible plot ideas: So many. As mentioned above you'd want a lot of time focused on the students living in the boarding school and their struggles, mainly Lizzie and Josie and their difficulties being the daughters of the headmistress and a teacher at the school and how the other students treat them because of this. In seeking to know more about their covens past the girls will discover Caroline is not their real mother which will cause a lot of conflict, and could potentially lead them to discovering Kai. Caroline will struggle trying to be the perfect example all of the time, particularly if she is somehow drawn to turn off her humanity switch or is involved with a questionable love interest. Alaric has always still harboured feelings for Caroline and finds it increasingly difficult to work with her, plus their different styles of parenting often put them at odds. Jeremy and Dorian have a budding bromance but they, and all the teachers at the boarding school, often disagree over the best way to deal with potentially dangerous students. Some are more forgiving of their students fatal mistakes than others. A student/ teacher affair would be cliche but also interesting depending on who it was.
Target Audience: Probably what The Vampire Diaries original audience looked like - the young female demographic.
Could it work as a show?: Absolutely. If Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters has taught us anything if that there is plenty of material to be mined from following the lives of conflict teenagers that have supernatural abilities.
Could it ever actually happen?: Yes! Co-creator/ executive producer of The Vampire Diaries Julie Plec told TV Line in response to question about a possible spin-off, 'It’s a wish, not a promise, but I do think there are more stories to be told. I think The Originals has the opportunity to visit with some of these characters, and I think there are future shows down the line that can be spawned out of this world and could tell good stories. It’s a hope for the future if nothing else.' It sounds like we may have to wait until The Originals is over to see whether this comes to fruition or not, but like Plec herself said, here's hoping it will happen.
