The Vampire Diaries Star Developing New Vampire Series for Fox

by

A notable actor from the TV show “The Vampire Diaries” on The CW, Paul Wesley (who played Stefan Salvatore), is venturing into the world of vampires behind the scenes instead of in front of the camera. As reported by Deadline, Wesley is slated to produce a new vampire-themed comedy currently under development at FOX. The series, which has yet to be named, will be written by Victor Fresco, one of the creators of “Unstable”, and directed by Liz Friedlander from “The Rookie”. Fresco, Friedlander, Wesley, Aaron Kaplan of Kapital Entertainment, and Tracy Katsky of KatCo are set to serve as executive producers for the project.

The narrative will trace a 25-year-old vampire’s journey as he juggles managing the family business under the watchful and overbearing gaze of his murderous parents, who are also vampires. Simultaneously, he yearns to pursue his dream of acting. This concept was initially conceived by Friedlander, Wesley, and Kaplan before being passed on to Fresco.

The story focuses on a 25-year-old vampire who’s stuck working for his overbearing vampire parents while secretly wanting to become an actor. This idea was thought up by Friedlander, Wesley, and Kaplan before being given to Fresco.

For Wesley, this new role signifies his comeback to vampire tales. Previously, he played Stefan Salvatore on The Vampire Diaries for eight seasons from 2009 to 2017. He also reprised his character for an episode of The Originals. Apart from acting, Wesley has directed numerous episodes of The Vampire Diaries and its spinoff series, Legacies. At present, Wesley can be seen as James T. Kirk in Paramount+’s Star Trek: Strange New Worlds.

For fans of “The Vampire Diaries,” it might be unexpected to learn that Wesley, who played a significant role in the show, expressed during an interview with InStyle in 2023 that he not only didn’t miss his character but also had no intention of playing another vampire. However, this new series provides a means to narrate a vampire tale without requiring Wesley to reprise his vampire character. As of now, there is no sign that Wesley will be visible on screen or have any other role in the series beyond his executive producer position.

Wesley expressed that he doesn’t pine for anything related to portraying Stefan, and this statement shouldn’t be interpreted negatively. After eight long years, he’s more than content to move on from that phase. The series ran for eight seasons, which required constant change to avoid monotony each season. At one point, Stefan was purely evil, but he started as a good character and ended up returning to the good side. However, Wesley enjoyed the challenge of making the character feel fresh.

Read More

2025-01-22 07:10