After "The Vampire Diaries" has been moved to a dreaded Friday night timeslot, rumors of Ian Somerhalder leaving the show have been fast emerging online.
Fans of the show are worried that the supernatural drama might not be renewed after this season because a Friday timeslot is sometimes considered a sign of a show's imminent cancellation. The decision to reschedule the series is rumored to be down to low ratings.
The show enjoyed high numbers for its first six seasons, but season 7 is not looking so good. The current season's ratings plummeted, notably after Nina Dobrev made the decision to leave. With Dobrev gone and the show's viewership suffering, Somerhalder might also be pondering on quitting the show as well.
The story between Dobrev's character (Elena Gilbert) and Somerhalder's character (Damon Salvatore) is reportedly a major factor to the show's success. The couple's chemistry was so intense and convincing that the relationship eventually developed off-screen as well.
Fans of the pair wept when the couple split in 2013 and even more when Dobrev announced her departure from the CW series.
Somerhalder has previously spoken to Variety about Dobrev's exit and remained optimistic about the show.
"I personally think everyone thought it was going to be a huge departure after Elena (Nina Dobrev) was gone. And I was one of those people. I thought it was going to be a huge departure for the typical formula of our show. By virtue of the fact that it wasn't a huge leap for mankind, as far as changing it up, there were some differences that sort of mixed up the formula," he explained.
With everything that's going on, fans of "The Vampire Diaries" are in a panic that Somerhalder might follow in Dobrev's footsteps.
Other reports, however, speculate the contrary and surmise that the 37-year-old actor is actually happy to have Dobrev out of the picture.
