Check out The Vampire Diaries

On Thursday, September 10, the long awaited new series The Vampire Diaries premiered on CW. With approximately 4.6 million viewers, it was the network’s highest rated premiere ever. It looks like proof that vampires are certainly hot in the world of popular culture, but there is more to the story than just that. Like the blockbuster movie Twilight, The Vampire Diaries began as a book series long before anyone ever thought of seeing it played out on screen. Those books gave the show a built-in fan base from the start.

With only one episode aired so far, it’s hard to give an accurate prediction of how true to the books the series will be. The premiere reactions may be more positive among those viewers who have not read the books, simply because they did not know what to expect. But among those familiar with the series, some of the glaring changes may have made it difficult to take it all in the first time through.

The most obvious and easily distracting change is probably the physical description of Elena. While Nina Debrov is a gorgeous brunette with dark eyes, the Elena of the books is described as pale blond with icy blue eyes. However, that is just a physical description change, nothing that elemental to the story itself. It seems that Meredith and Bonnie’s characters from the book have been combined into the character of Bonnie played by Katerina Graham. Her psychic powers manifesting themselves through touching the beer bottle in Elena’s hand was definitely not in the book. Elena’s younger sister Margaret has become Jeremy, the younger brother played by Steven R. McQueen. It’s going to be very interesting to see how that particular change plays out as the series progresses.

The second episode will air tonight and may very well draw in even more viewers. Despite the changes, fans of the books will find themselves drawn into the familiar love affair of Stefan and Elena. For those unfamiliar with the series, this is a whole new world to discover. You can see a preview of tonight's episode on CW's site.

Andrew Eccles/The CW 2009

For many readers of the Vampire Diaries book series, Paul Wesley fits the description of Stefan Salvatore perfectly. He's handsome, smoldering and mysterious. He even has some prominent fang-like teeth. So while he may now seem like a shoe-in for the part, Paul admits that the audition process was grueling. In fact, he only had about two weeks from the time he was cast until they began filming the pilot.

While it was a summer arts program in third grade that introduced Paul to acting, he didn’t land his first television role until high school. Since that time he has honed his craft in numerous television roles. Ironically, his first starring role was in the series Fallen. His character was a young man struggling to come to terms with the fact that he was half angel. It’s quite a jump from angel to vampire, but Paul seems more than ready to take on the challenge.

Upon learning that he would play the part of Stefan, Paul immediately threw himself into the books. He wanted to get as much back story as possible. The explanations that he gives of Stefan, and his relationships with Elena and Damon, seem to demonstrate a wonderful grasp of the role. He calls the chance to play such a “meaty character” an actor’s dream.

Just like his costar Nina Debrov, Paul has dealt with the comparisons between Twilight and Vampire Diaries. While he agrees that there are some definite similarities, “they're both age old vampires who are in love with mortal girls and the stories take place in high school settings,” he is quick to point out that Edward and Stefan are two very different people, well, vampires.

I'm just now learning about Edward Cullen because people keep asking me about it [laughs]. But when we were shooting, I had no idea who Edward Cullen was -- or what 'Twilight' was. I'm sure he's incredible, but I'm not going to think too much about him because for me, it's all about Stefan!

Despite her physical differences from the Vampire Diaries books' description of the character, Nina Dobrev is bringing to life the character of Elena Gilbert. Her face is everywhere right now and features about here are abundant. For example, Entertainment Weekly has named her as a "Breakout Star" and she is one of TVGuide's "Fresh Faces of Fall TV."

Of course fans of the already-popular television series and the books that started it all are clamoring for information. Elena is the sweetheart of the series, the unlikely heroine. She is the catalyst of the volatile reunion of vampire brothers Stefan and Damon. Although she is the only main character not a vampire, and ironically the only one in the books who keeps a diary, without Elena, there would be no Vampire Diaries. So just who is the actress chosen to portray this vital character?

According to imdb.com, the 20-year-old actress was born in Sofia, Bulgeria, but moved to Toronto, Canada when she was two. Nina showed an interest and real gift for the arts from a very young age, enjoying everything from music to dance and visual arts. A sports enthusiast, she even represented Canada in Aesthetic Gymnastics before deciding to make acting her main focus.

One of the challenges that Nina faces in her role of Elena is an ironic squeamishness. "I literally pass out when I see blood," she explained in one interview. "It's very inconvenient for what I'm doing." While she may shy from the sight of blood, she is not afriad to tackle the critics calling Vampire Diaries nothing more than "a Twilight rip-off."

“[The Vampire Diaries] was written 15 years before Twilight even existed, so this isn’t a show taking advantage of the success of that. Both are about vampires, so there are going to be similarities whether we like it or not,” she tells WWD. “[But] we’re darker than Twilight. We’re a little steamier.”