the vampire diaries

Confession time: Matt Davis, who plays high school teacher Alaric on 'The Vampire Diaries,' was never really into his character's romantic relationship with former Gilbert guardian Aunt Jenna.

"I felt that it was ultimately forced and never really fully developed in a way that I thought I could really bring a lot of life to it," he admitted recently in an interview with AOL TV.

That's not to say he didn't love working with Sara Canning, whose character was killed off at the end of Season 2. "As much as I was heartbroken to lose Sara -- as we were all heartbroken to lose her -- I creatively was relieved to be free of that relationship, because I just felt like it was difficult for me to really be in touch with it."

Why, exactly, was he so disconnected from the relationship? "I got tired of playing the doubt of lying to Jenna, the doubt of not being able to tell her what's really going on and his constant churning of like, 'What do I do? I'm lying to her, I'm this liar, I'm such a bad person,'" Davis said. "I really am glad that he's moving beyond that and he's coming into a state where he's much more open. I think his purpose is reactivated."

Read on for more of what Davis revealed when we visited the Atlanta-area 'Vampire Diaries' set, including an intriguing new twist for his character, his hopes for a new Alaric love interest, and how much fun he had while his character was possessed by the evil half-vampire, half-werewolf hybrid, Klaus.

'The Vampire Diaries' fans will soon be able to sink their teeth into 'The Vampire Diaries' whenever they want on Netflix.

The CW and Netflix have struck a four-year deal to bring past seasons of shows to the streaming service. Previous seasons of 'The Vampire Diaries,' 'Gossip Girl,' 'One Tree Hill' and 'Nikita' will be on Netflix starting Oct. 15.

'Supernatural' and '90210' will be added in January 2012 and current seasons, including the first seasons of 'Ringer,' 'Hart of Dixie' and 'The Secret Circle,' will be available next fall.

['The Vampire Diaries' - 'Disturbing Behavior']

Time to play which 'Vampire Diaries' moment was sadder: When Uncle John staked Anna in the chest and she died during Season 1 -- I literally wept when that happened (Also, uh, spoiler alert? But I mean that was a year and a half ago and you're currently reading a Season 3 recap so we should be good.) -- or when Jeremy shut her out and shunned her to solitude in ghost purgatory during Thursday's episode?

They're tied for me, especially since No. 2 means we're probably going to have to wait a while to see more Malese Jow, and every episode of 'The Vampire Diaries' is better with some Malese Jow.

Although Nina Dobrev's 'Vampire Diaries' character Elena Gilbert just celebrated her 18th birthday, the Virgina high-schooler is wise beyond her years.

"She's 18 going on 35 with all the problems that she has in her life," Dobrev told AOL TV during a visit to the Atlanta 'Vampire Diaries' set.

Those problems include taking care of her little brother, chasing after her now-evil vampire boyfriend, hiding from the half-vampire-half-werewolf hybrid who thinks he killed her in a sacrifice ritual and, oh yeah, going to high school. In other words, "she's a kid dealing with grown-up problems," Dobrev said.

['The Vampire Diaries' - 'The End of the Affair']

I'm not one to pick favorites. Some people can name their top five favorite movies/songs/shows/etc. upon request, and some are doomed to a life of indecision. I'm one of the latter -- honestly, choosing five episodes of 'The Vampire Diaries' for our "Essential Episodes" series took about two weeks. But there is one thing I'm absolutely certain of: 'The End of the Affair' is my number one favorite 'TVD' episode of all time.

Alternately heartbreaking, hilarious, beautiful, engrossing and 100 percent enjoyable -- what more could you ask for in a high-school-set teen drama?

Until this year, the most intense bromance on 'The Vampire Diaries' was the strong bond between Damon and Alaric.

But during Season 3, it's all about the blossoming relationship between Stefan Salvatore and the evil vampire-werewolf hybrid Klaus. And this time, it might be true love.

At least that's what star Paul Wesley told AOL TV during a break on the 'Vampire Diaries' set earlier this month. We also chatted up the actor about how Damon feels being stuck back in Mystic Falls watching over Elena while Stefan is out ripping it up.

At the end of last week's 'Vampire Diaries,' poor, abused Caroline Forbes was tied up in a dungeon-like basement (why are there so many freaky, torture-ready chambers in Mystic Falls?) as her heretofore unseen father, played by 'Heroes' star Jack Coleman, prepared to "fix" her so she wouldn't be a vampire anymore. Pretty heavy stuff for just the second episode of the season.

Having discussed Season 3 with Candice Accola, who plays Caroline, on the Atlanta-area 'Vampire Diaries' set just a few weeks ago, AOL TV knows that her character is safe (for now). Accola spilled plenty of scoop about Caroline's budding romance with werewolf Tyler, the sex scenes that make her dad uncomfortable, and Caroline's mindset this year, but she played coy about her impending daddy issues. Frankly, we're kind of worried that she's such a fantastic liar.

Fox's 'The X Factor' dipped in its second night, but not by much.

The new singing competition was watched by 12.5 million viewers with a 4.3 rating in the 18-49 demographic on Thursday. Comparatively, the Sept. 21 premiere was watched by 12.5 million viewers for a 4.4 rating in the 18-49 demographic.

'The X Factor' was bested by CBS's 'The Big Bang Theory' premiere, which drew 14.4 million viewers for a 4.9 rating. The new entry on CBS's Thursday nights, 'Person of Interest,' was watched by 13.2 million with a 3.1 rating.

As for the other big debut of the night, ABC's 'Charlie's Angels' reboot was seen by 8.7 million viewers (a 2.1 18-49 rating). It's not a very big number, but better than 'My Generation' did last year. The two-hour premiere of 'Grey's Anatomy' had 10.3 million viewers with a 4.1 rating in the 18-49 demographic.

['The Vampire Diaries' - 'The Hybrid]

Sure, 'The Vampire Diaries' plots travel at superhuman speed, but considering this was only the second episode of Season 3, there's no way Klaus was going to succeed at creating his army of werewolf-vampire hybrid slaves.

Wait, I'm sorry. "Not slaves -- soldiers. Comrades." Klaus says potato, I say semantics.

So, of course, the entire hybrid exercise was futile since the whole pack ended up dead before the full moon was over. Although Klaus did "everything he was told" (who told him these things?!) and killed a vampire, a werewolf and a doppelganger -- oh, wait, there's the problem -- instead of turning into an army of badass hybrid killers, it got really 'Trainspotting'-meets-'True Blood' up in that mountainside when the wolf-vamps started shaking like they were in heroin withdrawal and crying blood tears.

After two years of playing Stefan Salvatore, 'The Vampire Diaries'' resident perfect boyfriend and all-around nice guy (who just so happens to be a perpetually 17-year-old vampire), Paul Wesley makes no secret that he loves the murderous turn his character has taken recently.

Now that Stefan has become "the Ripper," nicknamed as such for the savage way the formerly docile vampire tears apart people's bodies as he feeds on them (yes, pretty brutal for a CW teen soap), he couldn't be happier.

"It's everything I wanted," he told AOL TV last week when we visited the Atlanta-area 'Vampire Diaries' set. "The thing is, it's a transition. It's gradual. We open up this season -- and I don't want to give too much away -- but it's kind of like we're at the precipice of something happening. We're at this point where he's still holding on to a bit of that old part of himself."

But Good Stefan doesn't stick around for long. "As the story progresses we see his journey, his struggle, his disease take over, this darkness, and it sort of turns into a Stefan that has no morals," Wesley explained. "That's really, really fun to play. I get to play a whole new character and I get to do something that I have never done, and the audiences get to see me in a way that they never would've expected."

['The Vampire Diaries' - 'The Birthday']

I'm not saying that 'The Vampire Diaries' is predictable -- it's anything but, in fact -- but the opening scene of Thursday's Season 3 premiere felt almost 'Law & Order'-like in its familiarity.

We knew things were not going to turn out well for the poor girl who just happened to be outside in the dark in the middle of nowhere when approached by the (insanely attractive) man we all know to be Klaus, the psychopath half-vampire/half-werewolf hybrid who destroys all in his path to world domination. (Okay, so we haven't really seen that on NBC.)

But this particular PYT wasn't exactly the random victim you'd find in a procedural -- she was a seemingly minor casualty in Klaus 'n Stefan's Tour De Murder, but in fact she helped set our Season 3 plot in motion. The girl led K 'n S (sounds like a '90s R&B group) to Ray Sutton (David Gallagher), the werewolf the boys had been searching all summer for, and as we would learn by the end of the episode, the first unlucky member of the hybrid army Klaus is planning to build with lieutenant Stefan by his side.

Last Saturday, many of the CW's brightest stars dropped by the Warner Bros. studio lot in Burbank to celebrate the start of a new fall season, and AOL TV was on hand to grab some fresh scoop about your favorite shows straight from the source.



We caught up with the casts of 'The Vampire Diaries,' 'Nikita,' 'Supernatural,' 'Ringer' and 'The Secret Circle' for a sneak peek of what's coming up after new episodes premiere, so join us after the jump for a cavalcade of spoilers.

After last season's huge cliffhanger finale -- hell, cliffhanger season -- we're now faced with some big changes over at 'The Vampire Diaries.' Stefan is bad, Damon is good ... oh, this is gonna be fun.

I caught up with star Ian Somerhalder to talk all about Damon's latest dilemma: Having to take care of the girl he loves but can never have.

He also teased some more Damon drama in Season 3 (premieres Thurs., Sept. 15, 8PM ET on The CW), including how "pissed off" he is that his brother Stefan has taken off with that "prick" Klaus, and why Damon's annoyed with the idea of spending another three-quarters of a century in Mystic Falls.

Then we dished about the status of the Damon-Alaric bromance, all the nude scenes he's had this season and how, personally, he's enjoying the simple pleasures in life with his on-screen temptress and off-screen girlfriend Nina Dobrev.

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 12

'Gaga By Gaultier' (8PM ET, The CW) special presentation
Pop star and fashion icon Lady Gaga meets legendary fashion designer Jean Paul Gaultier in a wide-ranging and unforgettable interview at Gaultier's fabulous atelier in Paris, discussing everything from her meteoric rise to fame, secret backstage details, her unique relationship with her fans, and her passionate love for fashion and art.

'Bachelor Pad' (8PM ET, ABC) season finale
In the first hour, the remaining four couples compete in a Cirque du Soleil test of acrobatic prowess judged by Trista Sutter, Jason Mesnick and Ali Fedotowsky. The winning couple will choose which pair will join them for the final judging in the second hour, in which the previous contestants return to vote for the couple they find most deserving of $250,000.

'The Closer' (9PM ET, TNT) summer finale
The team searches for clues following the shooting of a deputy sheriff, and Brenda's case comes to a head after the judge makes a critical decision.

While The CW has made its name producing wonderfully addictive, soapy dramas, the network is also known for the incredible attractiveness of all the PYTs it casts. Think about it: Have you ever seen an un-hot person on that channel? (That's our new PC term for ugly.) The answer is no, you have not.

Therefore, in the interest of journalism -- obviously we do this for you, readers -- we perused the photo galleries on the network's press site to for photo evidence of the aforementioned hypothesis. In other words, we found the drool-worthiest snapshots of The CW's many muscle-bound men and put them in a gallery for us you to enjoy.

It's a hard job, but somebody's gotta do it. Again, you're welcome.