The Insider.com

11 Best Shows of 2011:

#4. 'Vampire Diaries'

Don't let the blood-sucking title or network throw you off – while The Vampire Diaries may contain all the good-looking characters and lascivious plots you've come to expect from The CW, it also boasts Emmy-worthy performances and a speedy storytelling pace that manages to leave you both breathless and up-to-date.

You'll come for the exclamation points (sex! scares! Somerhalder!), but end up staying because of the deep emotional connections these characters share with one another, and by extension, the audience. Relationships that account for the show's addictive quality.

Any fan will testify that the swell of emotions which bubbled up inside of them watching Caroline fall into the arms of her best friends after a truly terrifying torture scene in February's Daddy Issues is the reason they keep returning to Mystic Falls.
Best Episode: The Sun Also Rises