the vampires’ diaries It’s certainly not the first show to have had to deal with real-life changes in its characters’ appearance or availability that affected the script. When a central character has a pregnancy that coincides with the filming of a series, the writers must make some decisions about what to do next.
They will do it hide the growing belly of the character behind objects on set and try to ignore the obvious? Will the character be removed from the show during the last months of the pregnancy? They will do it incorporate pregnancy in the plot?
For the character of Candice King in the vampires’ diaries, the writers opted for the latter, incorporating King’s pregnancy into the show. This is how the plot changed!
Candice King played Caroline Forbes in ‘The Vampire Diaries’
the Vampire Diaries was a long-running drama series on the CW that premiered in 2009 and ran for eight seasons. The plot revolved around a pair of vampire brothers who had feuded for decades but had now returned to their hometown, where a love feud provided them a playground for old feuds and sibling rivalries.
Caroline Forbes, the character of Candice King is one of the main female characters in the series. At first, she is a close human friend to Elena, the show’s first love interest for both brothers. When Caroline is severely injured in a car accident, she is turned into a vampire through a series of events in which one of the brothers (Damon) heals her with his blood while another character (Katherine) uses that knowledge to turn Caroline. into one of the walking dead
Caroline became a fan favorite and was one of the only cast members, according to IMDb – to appear in all 171 episodes of the series (the others were Stefan, Damon, Bonnie and Matt).
Candice King’s real-life pregnancy teased a new plot point
In a panel discussion on the show, Candice King was asked if her real-life pregnancy caused the pregnancy plotline that followed on the show. King first joked that she’s “not that method,” a reference to the fact that her real-life pregnancy came first, not the other way around.
She said it was “a hoot” to have to call her bosses, knowing they’ve been busy writing for the upcoming season, and tell them, “You know all the work you’ve just done over the last few months? Surprise, bitch! I’m pregnant! You have to redo everything.”
The reality certainly baffled the writers, and they came up with a wild plotline where another character (Jo) was pregnant, but was killed, so they were magically transported to Candice. King quipped: “Like the Virgin Mary of vampires?”
King went on to clarify that Jo’s character, her affair with Alaric, and the Gemini twins plot, in general, probably would not have been part of the story at all. It’s unclear if King’s pregnancy was the only reason the Gemini coven, Liv, Luke, Kai, and the heretics became a part of the story, but from the way King told it, it sounds like it was his pregnancy which brought viewers some of the best villains. in the series
Jo’s twins became the center of attention of a spin-off series
In the panel discussion, King went on to explain that “the running joke with [show creator] July [Plec] and I’m like, ‘You have a baby, and I got a third show.'” That reference is to the series legacieswhich featured the plot twins developed to accommodate King’s pregnancy.
In the spin-off, the twins, Lizzie and Josie, are students at The Salvatore School for the Young and Gifted. This additional series gave King the opportunity to briefly revive the role of Caroline Forbes when she was appointed director in the season 4 (and ultimately series) finale.
King also asked the legacies writers to write a small part for her daughter Florence in the last episode, as she had been on the set growing up.
Unfortunately, fans never got a chance to see what could have been because the show was canceled before its fifth seasonwhich would have featured Caroline’s return more fully.
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