Ratings: Is ‘The Vampire Diaries’ starting to reach the end?

There are some things that we almost never expected to see in the ratings, and “The Vampire Diaries” at a 0.7 in the 18-49 demographic is one of them.

It was only a couple of years ago when this show, the crown jewel of The CW, was getting twice that number. It was also the network’s most cherished lead-in, and it made stars out of Nina Dobrev, Ian Somerhalder, and Paul Wesley. Everyone was jumping on board the vampire bandwagon; heck, the network even created a spin-off in “The Originals” to focus even further on the subject.

So is it time to press the panic button for what was once a great show? We don’t know if we would say that just yet, if for no other reason than that there are still many weeks left to go in the season. Maybe this was an anomaly, and since we are still early in the season, there is a pretty good chance that it will see its numbers rise up at some point a little bit later.

Still, though, this is the time of the season where your numbers are typically higher, and while we don’t necessarily think that season 6 marks the end of the road for the show, it wouldn’t shock us if season 7 does mark the last bow. This show has brought so much to The CW over the years that it deserves to go out with something more than a whimper a la “90210.” That show may hold, at least proportionally, a record for ratings divide between the series premiere (which shattered network records) and a series finale.

What do you think: Are we getting near the end for “The Vampire Diaries”? Share some of your thoughts with a comment, and head over here to read our review for Thursday night’s new episode. You can also sign up if you want further news on everything we cover right now via our CarterMatt Newsletter.

Photo: The CW