When Could A 'Vampire Diaries' Spinoff Happen?

Fans of the dearly departed The Vampire Diaries stood at attention when the series finale of the popular CW show on March 10 seemed to hint at a spinoff following the characters of former lovers Caroline and Klaus. But when will The Vampire Diaries spinoff happen if it gets the green light? I'm all for seeing what's happening at Caroline's Klaus-funded school for supernatural children, but I need more information before I get too hype and my little heart breaks if the spinoff doesn't actually go down.

When asked by Bustle writer Sydney Bucksbum for clarification about a future spinoff, the show's creator Julie Plec stated, "Of course, I have laid a groundwork in the [TVD series] finale itself for future expansion of the universe." While this news is pretty exciting, it doesn't feel definite as Plec also pointed out, "that being said, it's just groundwork. It's nuggets of thoughts rattling around in my brain, there's nothing official to announce or anything like that."

And besides, there's a lot on Plec's plate which would have to be dealt with before a new show can even be thought of. First, Season 4 of The Originals needs to happen which will premiere March 17 at 8 p.m. Then, the question will be if that series gets a fifth season. After that question, the team behind the supernatural shows and the CW will have to make the call whether they want a new series to add to the roster. That's a whole lot of maybes, but those people with the decision-making power know to give the people what they want, right?

Plec also told The Hollywood Reporter that after the finale of TVD, she had plans to, "not write and take a vacation. And then, when I come back on the other side of that, I'm going to go back to work." Meanwhile, CW president Mark Pedowitz claimed, "Julie and I have only had casual discussions about it. I actually guessed what her plans were in one of our casual discussions. I saw them coming. I think that is a discussion that we can have as we go into development. I think she had it set up the right way."

If Plec's "back to work" speed is fast, and the CW likes what she's got, we could maybe even see as series as soon as Spring 2018? It's not really clear when we'll get a spinoff, so speculating is the best we can do for now. And speculating towards the positive side of things, i.e. a sooner date, is never a bad idea.

Stay strong, guys. The answer will be out there eventually.