October 22nd, 2009 6:48 am

The CW orders more ‘Vampire Diaries’ and ‘Melrose Place’

The CW have picked up ‘The Vampire Diaries’ for a full season, while upping ‘Melrose Place’ to 18 episodes.

The CW has finally given an official back-nine pickup to ‘The Vampire Diaries’, following the additional scripts they ordered last month.

The hot new series, developed by Kevin Williamson, has become to highest rated series on The CW — consistently topping 3.5 million viewers each week and boasting strong figures in the demos.

‘Vampire Diaries’ hit a series high this past week, with 3.85 million. Should the series continue on this path, it’s more than likely that the show will be snapped up for a second season.

Meanwhile, the network have also upped the episode order for ‘Melrose Place’, giving the struggling drama an additional 5 episodes.

The network are clearly hoping the ratings will pick up, especially come next month, when Heather Locklear returns to the famous apartment complex.

‘Melrose’ is unlikely to see a cancellation before seasons end, as The CW are only housing one additional drama for midseason (‘Life UneXpected’). It’s been speculated that the series is headed on a similar trajectory as last season’s ‘Privileged’, which played out though the entire season, before finally being cancelled.

No word on full season pickups for ‘Gossip Girl’, ‘90210′, ‘Supernatural’ and ‘Smallville’ just yet, but they’re probably a given.

Source: Entertainment Weekly