Is ‘The Vampire Diaries’ Leaving Netflix in 2020?
Fans of The CW’s Vampire Diaries franchise are lucky. The Vampire Diaries and both of its spinoffs—The Originals and Legacies—are all currently on Netflix.
With so many streaming services available nowadays, however, some of Netflix’s biggest non-original shows are being removed left and right for other streaming apps. Friends, for example, was taken off and added to HBO Max. The Office will also be leaving the platform in January 2021 for Peacock, NBC’s streaming app. Could The Vampire Diaries be next?
Is ‘The Vampire Diaries’ leaving Netflix?
The CW hit series ran for eight seasons, with its final episode airing March 10, 2017. The show starred Nina Dobrev, Ian Somerhalder, and Paul Wesley as Elena Gilbert, Damon Salvatore, and Stefan Salvatore. And it was popular enough to produce two spinoffs, one of which—Legacies—is still running.
Given that The Vampire Diaries is a CW show, it’s part of The CW’s parent company WarnerMedia. HBO Max is WarnerMedia’s streaming platform, which means the company could choose to reclaim The Vampire Diaries franchise at some point.
While that hasn’t happened just yet, fans abroad need to prepare for some sad news: The Vampire Diaries is leaving Netflix in the United Kingdom and Ireland on Nov. 1, 2020, according to Decider.
Where can ‘The Vampire Diaries’ fans in the UK and Ireland watch the show?
Don’t fret if you’re in the U.K. or Ireland. The show will be available to watch on Amazon Prime Video, but the seasons/episodes will have to be rented or purchased. The show will still remain on Netflix in the U.S. for now, as will The Originals and Legacies.
The series being removed from the streaming platform in the U.K. and Ireland does hint that it could happen elsewhere in the future. The Vampire Diaries is an incredibly lucrative show, being one of The CW’s biggest successes. It would make sense if, once its deal with Netflix is up for review, WarnerMedia would consider taking the show back and putting it on HBO Max. And it wouldn’t be uncharacteristic for the decision to happen quickly.
The Harry Potter films, after all, were on HBO Max starting Aug. 25. But they’ve already been removed from the service and added to Peacock, where they will remain for one month as part of Warner Bros.’ deal with NBC. (Come 2021, the films will be taken off the platform.)
The CW and WarnerMedia could still decide to remove ‘The Vampire Diaries’ from Netflix in the US
It also doesn’t bode well that, in 2019, The CW didn’t renew its deal with Netflix that guaranteed shows including Riverdale, Jane The Virgin, and Crazy Ex-Girlfriend would be available on Netflix eight days after the season finales aired, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Between this and WarnerMedia creating its own streaming network, it’s likely only a matter of time before The Vampire Diaries, The Originals, and Legacies are all removed from Netflix.
