The Vampire Diaries - Season 6 Interview With Julie Plec 2

How long will it be before we find out where Damon and Bonnie have been and presumably when they'll be back?

The answer of what happened is part of the season-long mythology, but the mystery of where they are is going to be asked very quickly and answered soon enough to not be frustrating.

Can Elena really move on?

What happened to her is that in spite of losing her parents and her brother, her aunt, her friends again and again, she lost the person she singularly believed to be the man she was going to spend all of eternity with. I think there's a special form of grief that comes attached to that, which will be difficult to get past, but also the choices she makes at how to move on will be very interesting to watch.

Will she and Stefan lean on each other over their shared loss?

Well, speaking of coping mechanisms, each of them have a very specific method of how they're dealing with it and they find a strange appreciation of each other's methods even though they're not necessarily healthy. They connect over the fact that sometimes it takes extreme choices to move past something that has hurt you so deeply. So we will see their friendship able to be strong and healthy in spite of the way each of them individually are dealing with their loss.

Last season began with the start of college. Will Elena and Caroline try to resume normalcy in being a couple of college kids?

That's the goal. The problem is they didn't just lose their friends, they lost their town. They can't go home again, so college in its own way should be this haven for them where the friends can be together but not everyone wants it to be that easy and not everyone is that willing and ready  to settle in and say, "OK, let's move on." So we'll be wanting to see our friends find a way back to each other and move past the trouble they brought upon themselves and get back to their home. And in the meantime, it's going to be what each of them is doing to make that happen.

How does Caroline handle everything?

Caroline is probably someone who will surprise you. She's taken this loss --  in a weird way almost the hardest -- so she's going to have to bounce back in her Caroline way. Who she bounces back with and how she does it and how she's living her life is revealed in the first episode. Her journey is where are all her friends and if only she could figure out a way to bring them all back together, get the magic back to Mystic Falls, find a way to bring Damon and Bonnie home than life would be perfect. But it's harder than she thought.

With Alaric back, how does he fit in or is it hard for him to find his place?

Alaric is struggling a little bit. He was turned into a breed of original vampire and then set on a killing mission and then he died, so after being a weird vampire and a ghost for all this time he's assimilating into his life as this creature he never wanted to be. But he's still trying to be the human that he was and it's not easy for him. There might be some help and assistance that comes in the form of a woman he'll meet, and he and Elena are closer than ever, which is great because she has somebody in her life she can really rely on and they can share their grief together.  

This week, you cast a bunch of new characters. Who are you most excited about?

I'm particularly fond of the Kai character, played by Chris Wood, and Jo, played by Jodi Lyn O'Keefe. I've been a fan of Jody Lyn since H20 back in the day. Chris Wood is this exciting new guy, not new to everyone, but new to me, and he bowled me over. The characters are so powerful, each of them, and I'm really excited to see what we can do with them.

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The Vampire Diaries - Season 6 Interview With Julie Plec

I have to ask: Is there a chance Damon and Bonnie will like where they are? Is it almost heaven-like?
Ooh, well… I can tell you this: Where they are is part of the mystery of the beginning of the season. It’s not torturous, but it’s by no means a roller coaster ride of fun. If nothing else, it’s a bit of an existential experience. [Laughs]

How aware of their new surroundings will they be?
They’ll be aware that they’re no longer where they thought they were — but they’re also not dead, per se. They’ll be asking a lot of questions, along with the audience, including: What’s going on? Where the hell are we? And how do we get home?

There’s a crazy internet rumor out there that suggests Elena will want to reunite with Damon so badly, she’ll consider dying to join him. Is there any truth to that?
I’ll just say that I think it’d be super sad for a young woman in her vibrant, early years to take her life and die on the sword for the love of a man. As much as I am a romantic and believe in true love, I also believe in therapy and trying to pull yourself together and getting on with your life.

Is she pulling herself together? What can you say about Elena’s mental state in Season 6?
She’s trying, and I won’t necessarily say she’s succeeding. She’s got some complicated coping mechanisms that are making her be things and do things and act in ways that we wouldn’t normally expect from her.

And how is Stefan coping with the apparent loss of his brother?
Stefan has made some very big choices about how he wants to live his life in the wake of his brother’s death. That’s part of the first round of reveals of where our characters are. Is he off on the top of a mountain talking to a shaman? Is he trying to get answers from a witch about how to fix everything? Is he back to being a ripper? Is he drowning his sorrows at the bottom of a bottle? We’ll see…

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The Vampire Diaries - Chris Wood Cast

Chris Wood will play Kai, a charmingly unstable newcomer with the unsettling ability to seem normal as the situation demands. He can be both playful and obsessive with a mix of adolescent angst. Sounds like he'll fit right in! He will first appear in 6x03.

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The Vampire Diaries - Marco James Cast

Marco James has been cast in a recurring role as Liam, an attractive and smart upperclassman at Whitmore College.
Described as cocky yet good-natured, he's a med student who comes from a family of doctors. James will make his first appearance on the Season 6 season premiere.

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The Vampire Diaries - Jodi Lyn O'Keefe Cast

Jodi Lyn O’Keefe has been cast as new character Jo, “a tough and accomplished doctor at the university hospital. She demands excellence from her students and has learned the hard way that there’s no room for error in her profession.”

 O’Keefe first appears in the season six premiere. There’s no word yet on how long she’ll stick around.

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The Vampire Diaries - Emily C Chang Cast

The Vampire Diaries is adding a new character who may not be who she seems.
The CW drama will be introducing the recurring character of Ivy, described as sweet and sincere. 
Not much is known about Ivy, only that she's "the quintessential girl next door with an unexpected wild side"
 but knowing Vampire Diaries, the tide will turn sooner rather than later. She will first appear in the sixth-season premiere.

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The Vampire Diaries - Colin Ferguson Cast

There’s a new man coming to Mystic Falls.
Colin Ferguson is joining the sixth season of the CW’s The Vampire Diaries, EW has confirmed. The Eureka star will play Tripp, head of a community militia “who will do anything to protect his town.”
Ferguson himself coyly hinted about the news on Twitter:

Hmmm.... Seem to have 'tripped' my way into a new role... Mystic Falls, hunh? This is gonna be fun :)

Executive producer Julie Plec also teased the role by saying:

For those of you who are sneaky/savvy and see the casting sides, the role was formerly called MITCH.

 Plec added that Tripp will give Sheriff Forbes (Marguerite MacIntyre) “a run for her money” when he makes his debut in the sixth season premiere.

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The Originals - To Be Made Into Book Series

Harlequin has signed a six-figure three-book deal with Josh Bank and Hayley Wagreich at Alloy Entertainment (NA) to pen a series of books based on the CW vampire television show The Originals. Margo Lipschultz will edit the books.

The books will consist of entirely new stories about the Original vampire characters, a family of New Orleans vampires that pledged to remain together a thousand years ago.

The books will be published under the Harlequin HQN imprint and are scheduled to hit bookstores in February 2015, April 2015 and June 2015.  The timing comes along with the conclusion of the second season of the show.

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The Vampire Diaries - Casting News - 13th July 2014

Gabrielle Walsh has been cast for a new and possibly recurring role in The Vampire Diaries. Walsh will play a girl called Sarah. She comes to Mystic Falls with spunk, street smarts and a shady agenda. Her character will be introduced in the season 6 premiere on 2nd October.