‘Legacies’ Cancelled: Why Is ‘The Vampire Diaries’ Spin-Off Ending?

Following the flagship show and its spin-off The Originals, Legacies was the third show in The Vampire Diaries universe.

Hope Mikaelson (Danielle Rose Russell) is a vampire-werewolf-witch “tribrid” who attends the Salvatore School for the Young and Gifted, a supernatural school run by Alaric Saltzman (Matt Davis).

Legacies had more than one legacy to uphold in the franchise because Hope was first introduced in The Originals (pardon the pun).

According to TVLine, the show’s cancellation was announced alongside six others, including Magnum P.I. and Rosewell, New Mexico, and the decision appears to be linked to the network’s rumoured sale.

Legacies’ ratings for Season 4 were lower than for Season 3, with the show averaging 760,000 viewers and a 0.2 demo in total per week, compared to 1 million viewers and a 0.3 demo the previous season.

Julie Plec, the show’s creator and executive producer, compared The CW’s decision to cancel seven shows to one of the most brutal scenes in Game of Thrones: The Red Wedding.

“It’s the Red Wedding at WBTV/CW today,” she tweeted. There is much more to say, but not today.

“Lots of thanks coming for fans, cast, and crew in future tweets.” But today, we lament.”
Plec also worked on the development and showrunning of The Vampire Diaries and The Originals from 2009 to 2018.

Plec is also working on Vampire Academy for NBC’s streaming platform Peacock, which is another vampire-based franchise she has overseen.

Russell has not yet publicly commented on the show’s cancellation, nor have other key cast members such as Aria Shahghasemi and Jenny Boyd.

Legacies’ Season 4 finale will air on Thursday, June 16, bringing the franchise to a close, at least for the time being, with its 20th episode.

Legacies will continue to air on The CW on Thursdays at 9 p.m. EDT.