I had a chance to watch the new CW show The Vampire Diaries, which premiered last night. The show is surprisingly good and has a kind of OC meets True Blood vibe. The plot revolves around a hot new vampire romancing a high school student, but there’s also the gore and murders that typify classic vampire stories. The romance between the lead characters is believable and not as cheesy and female-focused as in Twilight. There are too many beautiful young people in the small Virginia town of Mystic Falls, but the show pulled me in quickly and didn’t feel set up or predictable.

Mild spoilers for first episode below
If you’re a fan of Twilight and True Blood the plot can seem a little familiar at times, like when the lead character “glamours” a school official or when he gets freaked out at the first whiff of his future girlfriend’s blood, but that’s not the author’s fault. The show is based on a series of young adult novels by author L. J. Smith that predates Twilight and the True Blood books by at least 10 years. Lead actress Nina Dobrev told EW that the plot follows the books closely, with some changes for television. Series co-producer and writer Kevin Williamson said during a press conference at Comic-Con that he had some reservations about this genre, but “then I read the book… and I kind of got into it – because of Twilight and because of True Blood. I love those projects.” He explained that the show is a “sexy soap opera” and that he sees it as similar to one of his favorite childhood shows, “Dark Shadows.”

The Daily News speculates that the show might be too dark for teens and too tame for adults, but I don’t agree. I found that it struck its own balance and that it was entertaining and nuanced enough not to feel stuck in high school. In a crowded genre, The Vampire Diaries will surely stake its own claim. I expect that we’ll soon be hearing gossip about its attractive stars, especially lead vampire Stefan, played by Paul Wesley, and his human love interest, Elena, played by Dobrev.

It looks like R-Patts has some serious competition in Wesley. He said at Comic-Con that he was uncomfortable with the comparisons between his character, Stefan, and Twilight’s Edward Cullen. “I think 9 out of 10 girls would throw me under a bus to get to Edward Cullen… in all sincerity I just want to create a character that is independent of that.” He’s surely succeeded, and many flushing fans will agree.

Here’s a clip from the show, featuring Paul Wesley as Stefan and Ian Somerhalder as his evil brother Damon. This is thanks to EW’s Popwatch, which also loves the show:

[The CW and The Vampire Diaries are one our advertisers. They did not contact us or provide this show for our review.]

Photos are © 2009 The CW Network, LLC