'TVD' Fans Want To See Matt Donovan Return As Sheriff On CW's 'Legacies'

The Vampire Diaries fans may still be mourning the loss of their favorite vampire love triangle, but there’s finally a reason to celebrate. The CW’s new supernatural drama, Legacies, is a spinoff of TVD and The Originals, and it’s bringing back some of the series’ most beloved characters. Fans know that Alaric (Matt Davis) is returning as a main character, but what about the ~original~ heartthrob of Mystic Falls? Will Matt Donovan be on Legacies?

Luckily for fans, the answer is yes. Matt Donovan (Zach Roerig) is getting back into the supernatural thick of things on Legacies, and this time he’s Sheriff of Mystic Falls. According to the CW’s synopsis, the series will follow the next generation of magical teens, including Klaus and Haley's daughter Hope Mikaelson, and Alaric and Caroline’s twin daughters, Josie and Lizzie Saltzman. The kids, along with other teens, will be attending The Salvatore School for the Young and Gifted. Damon and Stefan donated their Mystic Falls mansion to the school, to provide a safe place for supernatural kids to hone and understand their abilities.

But with the action back in Mystic Falls, Matt’s probably going to be keeping a keen eye on the school. When he was last seen on the final season of TVD, Matt vowed to protect people by becoming Sheriff. After seeing all the vampires, werewolves, witches, ghosts and hybrids wreak havoc in his hometown for years, Matt decided to step in to protect the humans. Since then, his angst for the supernatural has grown, and in an interview with Entertainment Weekly, series’ creator Julie Plec hinted at what kind of Matt fans can expect to see.

“For the first time, Matt Donovan isn’t torn by a commitment to protecting his best friends against other people in their peer group, his singular goal is to keep the supernatural business on the DL, if not out of Mystic Falls, and to protect the town,” explained Plec. “So that puts him continually at odds with Alaric and the kids at the school. He says very clearly in an early episode, ‘If I get so much as a wind of your kids causing any trouble, I will come for them.’ So he’s both friend and antagonist at the same time.”

But despite offering protection to the humans of Mystic Falls, on Legacies Matt will also face some backlash from the very people he is trying to help. When talking to Us Weekly, Plec revealed that Matt will deal with new townsfolk who don’t know Mystic Falls’ sinister history. “Sheriff Donovan gets referenced in the first episode as the crazy local conspiracy theorist, the crazy loon in town that thinks monsters are real,” Plec told the outlet. “Mystic falls has recovered. They don’t know that they have a boarding school for supernatural kids or that they have a 200-year history of vampire violence so this crazy-ass sheriff — we like to think he’s a little bit like Hopper from Stranger Things — he’s just trying to protect his small town. He knows that all the monsters are real and they have no idea.”

Since the very beginning of TVD, life hasn’t been kind to Matt. He lost his sister Vicki to Damon, and then lost his mother as well. He had a crush on Elena, but she rejected him for Stefan, and when he was dating Caroline, she became a vampire, and that relationship ended as well. His friendship with Tyler ended with Tyler’s death, and his brief romance with Rebekah ended when she ran off to New Orleans. So, ultimately, all Matt has left is the town of Mystic Falls, so it’s no surprise that he feels the need to protect it so fiercely. As a fan of TVD, I’m just excited to see some of my favorite characters return, and I can’t wait to see what drama is in store for them.

Legacies premieres Thursday, Oct. 25, at 9 p.m. ET on the CW.