The Vampire Diaries isn't a television series.
A television pilot ( also known as a pilot or a pilot episode and sometimes marketed as a tele-movie ) is a standalone episode of a television series that is used to sell the show to a television network . The CW Television Network ( commonly referred to as just The CW ) is an American English language broadcast television network that is operated by The CW Network , LLC , a limited liability joint venture between CBS Corporation , the former owners of the United Paramount Network ( UPN ) , and the Warner Bros. . The Vampire Diaries . The pilot episode attracted the largest audience for The CW of any series premiere since the network began in 2006 .