UPDATE: Ian Somerhalder later took to Twitter to clarify that no official decision has been made at this point:

"Hey all, so... Last weekend I talked to an audience at a Q&A about the end of #TVD and how excited I was to make what I believe - my last year - be as great as possible. Somehow in my infinite wisdom and end-of-season foggy brain, I managed to make it sound like the show was coming to an end. Cut-to the press running stories that the show would be done after Season 8. Thing is, the people who actually make that decision (the CW and WB) haven't made it yet! So let's take things one step at a time: Season 7 wrap, vacation, lots of sleep, let the writers get started on Season 8, and then we'll all see where we go from there. Until then, much love ;)

Love,
Ian"

Original post:

Fans of "The Vampire Diaries" just got some bad news: The CW series is reportedly going to end after its next season.

That's the word from star Ian Somerhalder, who made the annoucement during an appearance at WalkerStalkerCon in Nashville last weekend. While there's still no official word from the network, according to the actor, the time to say goodbye has come.

"We have decided to do one last season to really do the story justice," Somerhalder told the con crowd.

While "TVD" fans are no doubt disappointed, the move ultimately makes sense for the show, which lost its original leading lady after season six, when Nina Dobrev decided to depart the series. And just a few days ago, fellow star Kat Graham told Us Weekly that she would also be leaving the program after season eight wraps.

Variety reached out to The CW for comment on Somerhalder's announcement, and a spokesperson for the network said that "no decision has been made" yet about the show's future. (Curiously, the actor's statement was originally quoted by the official WalkerStalkerCon Twitter account; for whatever reason, that tweet has since been deleted. Perhaps because Somerhalder spoke out of turn?) "TVD"'s eighth season order was part of a mass renewal from the network, which renewed all 11 of its scripted series earlier this year.

Stay tuned to see what the network has to say going forward.

[via: Variety]