David Anders will soon take up residence in Mystic Falls.

The 28-year-old actor has been added to the cast of Vampire Diaries as Jonathan Gilbert, Elena (Nina Dobrev) and Jeremy’s uncle, TVGuide.com has confirmed. The show previously introduced an older Jonathan Gilbert in a flashback, but a rep for the show says this is an entirely different character.

The CW has given early pickups to five series for next season, including The Vampire Diaries. The show will return in fall 2010. From the network:

The series receiving early renewals include this season’s breakout hit The Vampire Diaries, The CW’s most-watched show (4.6 million viewers) and the network’s number one show among adults 18-34 (2.5/8). The Vampire Diaries premiere generated the largest audience in network history for a series debut (5.7 million total viewers). The Vampire Diaries has improved The CW’s performance Thursday at 8:00 p.m. by 114% among women 18-34 this season.

It was also announced last week via THR that former soap star Stephen Martines has landed a recurring role on The Vampire Diaries. He will play a bad-ass vampire named Frederick who is locked in the tomb where Katherine (Nina Dobrev) was once thought to be and is up to no good when released. New episodes of The Vampire Diaries return on March 25.

Source: The CW & Fear Net

On The Vampire Diaries, are we going to find out that Alaric’s wife is a vampire? — Mirabel
MICKEY: Interesting theory, M! We’ve already seen a particularly bloody flashback in which Isobel is attacked by a familiar-looking vampire. Get ready to learn more about her interactions with bloodsuckers. It’s no accident that Alaric is teaching in Mystic Falls, but is his assumption that Isobel is dead correct? This is a good question to ask. Related question: Does Bonnie’s college-aged cousin have any supernatural secrets of her own?

Source: TV Guide

The 21-year Canadian actress even showed off a handmade bracelet made by one of her fans! Nina also chatted with the LA Times about her adventures moving from Degrassi to The Vampire Diaries.

Nina mentioned, “It was hard in the sense that a lot of my friends are on the show, but we still keep in touch. The Degrassi producers were very supportive. They sent me flowers when I got The Vampire Diaries, and then as soon as it premiered and got the great numbers that it did, I got another large bouquet of flowers from them. I went back and I did two episodes for Season 9, so that my character could be written out. I don’t know! Right now the schedule here is so overwhelming, and I can’t see how I could have time to do anything else, but you never know. I would do it. We’ll see!”

The actress plays lead character Elena in the TV series, who was blonde in the books the show is based on, and said fans were “frustrated” to see a brunette in the role.

She said: “I couldn’t go online because everyone was like, ‘She’s not a blonde, Elena’s a blonde’.”

Nina went on: “But we had to change it because in the books Elena was a little bit more of a Queen Bee, the popular high school girl and it just didn’t seem relatable to a lot of people. The creators just wanted to make her more of a girl-next-door, who you can root for. If you’re not rooting for the main girl, then there’s no point in watching. You need to love her, you can’t hate her.”

The Bulgarian-born Canadian actress admitted landing the part was “a long gruelling process”.

“I’m so lucky that I got it because there was a lot of competition,” she added.

The Vampire Diaries begins on February 2 on ITV 2.

Source: The Press Association

Stefan (Paul Wesley) helps Elena (Nina Dobrev) and Bonnie (Katerina Graham) out of a dangerous situation. Jeremy (Steve R. McQueen) asks Anna (guest star Malese Jow) to a party in the woods, unaware that she has her own reasons for wanting to meet him there. When Stefan, Damon (Ian Somerhalder) and Elena work with Bonnie and Grams (guest star Jasmine Guy) to open the tomb, everyone is shocked by what they discover. Candice Accola, Zach Roerig and Michael Trevino also star. Marcos Siega directed the episode written by Brett Conrad.

In flashbacks, Stefan (Paul Wesley) and Damon (Ian Somerhalder) recall the long-ago actions taken by townspeople including their father, Guiseppe Salvatore (guest star James Remar, Dexter), and Pearl (guest star Kelly Hu, Army Wives), leading to the devastating events that caused the rift in their relationship. In the present, Bonnie’s (Katerina Graham) date with Ben (guest star Sean Faris) takes a frightening turn. Elena (Nina Dobrev) helps Stefan as he and Damon race to find the missing journal that belonged to Elena’s ancestor. Stefan learns the reason behind Alaric’s (Matt Davis) interest in both the journal and the town’s history. Damon discovers that an old acquaintance has returned to town with an agenda he understands. Steven R. McQueen and Sara Canning also star. Marcos Siega directed the episode written by Kevin Williamson & Julie Plec.

The photoshoot is in the gallery as well as a sneek of the cover. Scans will be added when we can find them.

Love Hurts

Up all night with the cast of Vampire Diaries.

Those well acquainted with Serena and Little J may find this fact hard to believe: Vampire Diaries, The CW’s budding show about bloodsuckers and the teen girls who love and / or get eaten by them, has double the number of Gossip Girl viewers.

What makes it such a hit? It could be the current cultural zeitgeist of Edward, Bella, Sookie, Bill, and immortal drama. It could be the lingering teen appeal of star Nina Dobrev (remember her from Degrassi?). Or maybe it’s just damn fun and funny.

Luke Crisell – who calls the show “like Dawson’s Creek with less talk and more action” – sat down with the cast of and asked them himself.

On the similarities between Twilight, True Blood, and Vampire Diaries: “When the show first started… you automatically thought Twilight. But once you continue, there’s a whole other side of it that goes a lot deeper… It’s about letting everyone know that we’re different but we all respect each other.” –Nina Dobrev

On the sudden success of the show: ““Do I thing the show would be successful as it is, if it weren’t for all that? No.” –Paul Wesley

Hey Ian, is there any similarity between LOST and Vampire Diaries? “[My character] is gonna be the coolest character on television. There was no doubt about it. It reminded me of Sawyer, Josh Holloway’s character on LOST. He was always the character I secretly wished I could play.”