After The Vampire Diaries premiered in 2009, the CW Network attempted to strike gold again with a different YA fantasy series, adapting another body of work by L.J. Smith. Running for just one season, The Secret Circle premiered on September 15, 2011, to somewhat positive reviews, and it ran for 22 episodes until it was canceled a day after its cliffhanger season finale.

Set in the fictional town of Chance Harbor, Washington, the series follows a young woman named Cassie as she discovers her magical heritage and joins a coven of witches known as the Circle. A descendent of both Dark and Original witches, Cassie is the sixth and final member of the Circle, and she is destined to lead them. The series is one of the few teen-targeted, horror-based CW programs that balanced a young cast with adults, showing how growing pains are just as much about internal struggle and love as they are about dealing with parents.

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Fans of The Secret Circle thought a renewal was a given thanks to its connection with The Vampire Diaries, the positive reviews and its cliffhanger finale, but it wasn't meant to be. The series ended after one season with poor viewership cited as the primary reason. Despite being the third-highest rated series on the CW, it saw a steady decline in viewership in the second half of its first season.

The strong starting numbers put The Secret Circle in a higher demographic than some of the other series airing on the CW at that time, including Hart of Dixie, 90210, Gossip Girl and even network darling Supernatural. However, the sharp drop in ratings after the midseason finale showed that it wouldn't be able to keep it up, and even Executive Producer Andrew Miller had a feeling the show would end after Season 1. Despite the show being canceled, misinformation was spread about it being picked up for a second season.

"It was awful. I was hiding from the internet, fearing the worst, when I got a text from Phoebe [Tonkin] saying we’d been picked up," Miller says to BookTrib, "Twitter was all over TSC Season 2, and I was thrilled beyond belief. Right until I saw that retraction. It was absolutely heartbreaking. Like the worst ever practical joke. And instead of just being depressed, I was depressed and embarrassed."

Miller also spoke with EW about the storylines that would've happened if given a second season. According to him, the characters would've switched in their struggles with good and evil. Those who started out leaning more towards the dark, such as Dawn, Diana and Jake, would have begun reaching for the light. Meanwhile, the seemingly incorruptible Adam and Cassie would've explored the darkness.

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There were also big plans to explore the character of Charles Mead. One of the big cliffhangers from the finale featured Charles absorbing six demons into his body to save the others. The negative effects of his decision would have been a major plotline for the never made Season 2.

"Who Charles is when that happens remains to be seen. That’s what we wanted to set up for next season," Miller says to EW. "Can the people who love him help him in a way that brings him back to who he was, or is he gonna be someone completely different? He’s come a long way this year, starting off as a completely evil son of a b***h [when he killed Cassie’s mother] and ending up making a self-sacrifice that was pretty stunning. If there is a next season, I suspect that idea of self-sacrifice won’t be uppermost on his mind anymore. He might revert back a little."

Whether he would've reverted back or not remains unclear, as does the rest of the plot for the unmade Season 2. However, it is at least known why the show ended prematurely.

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