The CW has canceled The Vampire Diaries spin-off Legacies after four seasons, bringing the paranormal YA franchise's thirteen-year presence on television to an end. The series began airing on the network in October 2015. Legacies was the second spin-off series in the franchise following The Originals, which aired in October 2013 and ran until August 2018.
Picking up from the end of The Originals, Legacies followed the story of Hope Mikaelson (Danielle Rose Russell), daughter of vampire/werewolf hybrid Klaus Mikaelson (Joseph Morgan) and werewolf Hayley Marshall (Phoebe Tonkin). Attending the Salvatore Boarding School for the Young & Gifted in Mystic Falls, Virginia in order to learn to control her supernatural gifts and impulses, Hope has grappled between learning to hone her vampire, werewolf, and witch heritage, while also dealing with various threats and foes. Legacies has also seen the return of a number of Vampire Diaries characters, including Alaric Saltzman (Mattew Davis) and Jeremy Gilbert (Steven R. McQueen).
As reported by THR, Legacies season 4 will be its last, as The CW Network has announced that the show won't return for season 5. Legacies' cancellation will seemingly bring the Vampire Diaries franchise's 13-year consecutive reign on television to an end, as no other spin-offs have been announced. Ever since The Vampire Diaries season 1 aired, the franchise had maintained a presence in some form on television, as while the original series concluded in March 2017, The Originals had begun airing in October 2013 alongside season 5. When The Originals concluded in August 2018, Legacies began airing in the following October, maintaining the franchise's continued television presence year after year.
Prior to the cancellation, Legacies season 4 already saw large changes with the departure of Kaylee Bryant. Bryant had portrayed the character Josie Saltzman, the self-conscious witch and fellow student of the Salvatore School, since Legacies' first episode. Her final appearance came in Legacies season 4, episode 9 when Josie left the school and said a final goodbye to girlfriend Finch Tarrayo (Courtney Bandeko) and sister Lizzie (Jenny Boyd). Audiences already had to grapple with that surprising twist, but now they will have to sadly say goodbye to everyone else as well.
Out of The CW's recent wave of cancellations, Legacies may prove the most significant, as it brings the network's long-running franchise to a close for the foreseeable future. While franchise creator Julie Plec will soon bring another vampire-centric series to television screens in the form of Vampire Academy, the end of The Vampire Diaries' reign on television is sure to leave a void for many. For fans, many will be looking to Legacies' season 4 finale on whether it can bring the franchise to a satisfying end.
Legacies season 4 resumes Thursday, June 2 on The CW.
Source: THR