The Vampire Diaries (CW)
Premieres: Thursday, Oct. 11 at 8/7c

Where We Left Off: After Elena was in a car accident, she was "saved" by Meredith using vampire blood. The catch? She must now either die or transition into a vampire. Meanwhile, Bonnie helped Klaus take over Tyler's body to save himself from being desiccated forever.

What's Next: Since dying isn't an option, you can count on Elena transitioning in the first episode. As the show explores Elena's physical transformation, executive producer Julie Plec says this season will also show a lot of the emotional changes that the Mystic Falls gang will go through as they finish up their senior year. "Thematically, everything everyone is going through this season is right in line with a very human experience of reaching the end of your adolescence," she says." And as for the Tyler and Klaus situation? "We're not losing either of them, they both live to see tomorrow," Plec says. "We'll have a little bit of fun with the mistaken identity part of the story, and then we'll get Klaus back to being naughty, nasty Klaus."