One of the most surprising hit genres on our TV screens in recent years is the rise of the vampire teen series.
The latest addition to arsenal is The Vampire Diaries that has consistently delivered us plenty of pouting teens and supernatural shocks, but it remains to be seen as to whether it can go the way of Twilight and become a cultural phenomenon capable of launching film careers and even online games.
Since the Warner Bros TV show came to our screens in 2009, its seven seasons have successfully adapted the already-popular L.J. Smith books through some precision teen-centric marketing and and endless selection of vampires, witches and werewolves battling the small American town of Mystic Falls.
The introduction of The Vampire Diaries onto our TV screens follows a path already set by the huge commercial success of Twilight that had already opened the floodgates for a large amount of teen-friendly horror series such as True Blood and Hemlock Grove.
Even the gaming world seemed ripe for shockers with the likes of Until Dawn being a big hit for the PS4. And until the highly-awaited Vampyr game comes to consoles in 2017, Vampire Diaries fans will have to make do with the Immortal Romance online slot game at Lucky Nugget Casino that is a suitably smartphone-orientated way to follow these vampiric themes whilst hunting down some monstrous jackpots alongside many other fun games of blackjack, roulette and poker.
Despite starting out with the standard premise of cute teen girl falling in love with a wonderfully-tortured vampire, the series has shown an impressive ability to push the boundaries of the genre with the gradual introduction of political infighting in the town, as well as the remarkable doppelgänger character who wreaks havoc on the life of the main character Elena Gilbert.
The series has constantly maintained an audience of well over two million viewers, but recently it suffered a shock when it was revealed that the seventh series would be the first without the star actress Nina Dobrev. Many have pointed to the fact that it was the behind-the-scenes romance with co-star Ian Somerhalder that caused Dobrev’s exit.
Whilst series seven started well with a well-formulated blend of weird psychics, dramatic kidnappings and the increasing role of The Heretics, the audience numbers have struggled to reach the form of previous seasons.
And with the internet being increasingly full of rumours that the series may be cancelled, vampire fans may soon have to find their ghoulish delights in online casino games, as well as the series’ promising spin-off show The Originals.
