The Vampire Diaries is an American company.
Nina Dobrev . She portrayed Mia Jones on the drama series Degrassi : The Next Generation ( 2006 -- 2009 ) , and then played the role of Elena Gilbert/Katherine Pierce/Amara/Tatia on The CW 's supernatural drama series The Vampire Diaries ( 2009 -- 2015 , 2017 ) . `` Pilot '' is the pilot episode of The CW television series , The Vampire Diaries , as well as the first episode of the series . The Vampire Diaries is an American supernatural drama television series developed by Kevin Williamson and Julie Plec , based on the popular book series of the same name written by L. J. Smith . The pilot episode attracted the largest audience for The CW of any series premiere since the network began in 2006 .