‘Vampire Diaries,’ ‘Originals’ Stars on Overcoming Social Media Criticism

TCA 2015: “As long as people are feeling one way or another about it, that’s a good thing” says CW actor Joseph Morgan

Ian Somerhalder, Julie Plec, Joseph Morgan, The Vampire Diaries/The Originals panels, The CW, TCA 2015

The CW’s “The Vampire Diaries” and its spin-off “The Originals” both have a engaged social media following, but with a filter-less medium like Twitter anything can happen. Showrunners and cast members spoke at the Television Critics Association press tour in Pasadena on Sunday and revealed how they coped with negative feedback.

“This space created an environment to transfer a lot of information very quickly,” Ian Somerhalder, star of “The Vampire Diaries,” said. “Then all of a sudden it becomes this crazy organic beast… The ability for these people to start a forum and actually bond themselves over these storylines has really change the whole face of the planet.”

Joseph Morgan, who was once on “The Vampire Diaries” and is now star of its New Orleans-based spinoff, is thrilled whenever the fans respond with passion.

“As long as people are feeling one way another about it, that’s a good thing,” he said.

The executives and the stars admitted they enjoy glowing social media reviews, but “The Originals” executive producer Michael Narducci cautioned against reading too much into them, or letting them affect the creative process.

“Our job as writers and as performers is to create the best stories that we can,” he explained. “If we sought to pay fan service or just do things people are telling us to do, we wouldn’t be infused with the level of passion that would necessitate the great stories we are trying to tell.”

“[The show] would be gobbledy-gook,” executive producer Caroline Dries added.

On Sunday, the network also announced renewals eight of its dramas, including both “The Vampire Diaries” and “The Originals.”

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