The Vampire Diaries: "It's Not Just a Girly Show"

Ah, The Vampire Diaries. A really cool, fun show, filled with all sorts of twists, turns and death – the mere title of which still makes many guys scoff, who think it must be exactly like Twilight.

Last night, at the TCA (Television Critics Association) press tour, I had the chance to speak to the show's executive producer, Kevin Williamson, about the show's current storylines and the struggle to convince guys The Vampire Diaries is not just a show for girls. We also spoke about Williamson's new FOX pilot, which will see the writer of Scream returning to the world of serial killers.

And yes, I know it's amusing that even as we talk about how The Vampire Diaries isn't as girly as people think, we begin by talking about a kiss that happened on the last episode… But hey, it was a big deal in the storyline!

IGN TV: I respect the romantic aspects of The Vampire Diaries, even if it's not the main draw for me. Of course, that being said, Elena and Damon's kiss was something people had obviously been waiting a long time for.

Kevin Williamson: Yeah. And it also made a lot of people mad. [Executive Producer] Julie [Plec] and I, that night… I texted her and was like, "Did you get some death threats on your Twitter?" And she goes, "I got some death threats and some other unseemly things." I go, "Yeah, I got a couple of 'F*gs' and a couple of death threats." We were listing all the bad things they were saying,.

IGN: Wow!

Williamson: But then again, I'm happy that people are engaged. That's the good news.

IGN: With Stefan and Elena separated for pretty big reasons, did you just think the time was right for the next step in the evolution between Damon and Elena?

Williamson: Well, yeah and also just to stir things up a little bit. It's one of those things where I felt like we knew it was going to anger the Stefan and Elena fans, but we also… I felt that we had earned it. I felt like it's Season 3 and from the moment they first met, all the way up until now… He's earned it. He's proven some worth and he's done some good, solid things for Elena. He's developed a friendship with her. She can trust him now. There's a relationship there now and I felt like we earned it. And also, it's just going to make it that much more interesting…. This complicates things. Love is complicated and relationships are complicated and we're just entering the next phase of it. And Stefan is so tragic now, because you've got this fallen hero who, yes, I love him, but is he ever going to love himself? I don't think he's ever going to forgive himself. Because he's been hard on himself. We've established that. We set it up – that's one of the reasons he drank animal blood, is because it was his penance for all the wrong things he had done. And now will he ever be able to forgive himself and get back from it? And earn the love of a girl again? She'll love him, but I don't think he's going to let her so easily.

IGN: Now, I do enjoy when Damon slips here and there and, you know, kills a girl in the street…

Williamson: Yeah, it happens.

IGN: It happens! But Damon has been pretty secure lately. Will that continue, because he kind of has to, because of where his brother has been?

Williamson: Yes and no. I think what we're doing is, if you see what happens with the kiss, it's going to have all sorts of repercussions. And what happens next… They'll be all these repercussions from Stefan, from Elena and from Damon and how they respond. And we always know how Damon responds… He always responds with ripping somebody's head off.

IGN: Your show has had an impressive amount of decapitations.

Williamson: Yeah.

IGN: Though my favorite might be Elijah swatting the dude's head off.

Williamson: Rose's brother! [Trevor]

IGN: Klaus is now pretty pissed off with Stefan. Safe to assume things will be ramping up with those coffins?

Williamson: Of course. Some of those coffins are going to open up and we're going to see what is in them and watch what's in them get out. They'll have a bit of a storyline. I don't think it's any great surprise to say we're going to see more Originals, because we promised them. We're going to see them and they're going to get involved. It's going to be fun.

IGN: The flashback episode to Klaus' origin raised some questions, because we didn't see as many family members as there are coffins. Will we figure out who correlates to who could be in those coffins and where the others come from?

Williamson: We didn't maybe see everyone on camera in the flashbacks. We do establish a family tree and a family line and there will come a moment where we open up the coffins and you'll know who's who.

IGN: Poor Rebekah had two seconds of being woken up and then was put back down. Might she or Elijah pop up again in the not too distant future?

Williamson: Look, I love Rebekah. I think Claire Holt is amazing in this role. And Elijah… I can't decide which one I like better: Klaus or Elijah. They had such a great dynamic and they're so opposing in personality, that on screen together they have an electricity, which is kind of exactly what Julie and I always wanted – to have the same brother dynamic that Damon and Stefan have. I feel like with Elijah and Klaus, we have it. I think that's just going to fuel a bunch of stories, so I'm very excited about that.

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Continue to Page 2, as Williamson discusses convincing guys to watch Vampire Diaries, why Caroline is awesome and his new serial killer pilot.