“Annoyed” is the word Julie Plec used to describe how she’s feeling about the end of The Vampire Diaries franchise on the heels of the Legacies finale airing tonight before sharing a hearty laugh. Legacies was canceled after four seasons by the CW in mid-May as the network prepares for a sale.

Plec, who is the co-creator and executive producer of The Vampire Diaries and the creator of its two spinoffs, The Originals and Legacies, was joined by Legacies showrunner and fellow executive producer Brett Matthews for a chat with Deadline about the end of an era and their plans to expand on the franchise’s legacy someday.

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“I think it’s no secret that this was not the ending we expected to have,” Plec shared. “You know, in our minds, Legacies would have continued to the run-up to and beyond whenever we introduced the next chapter. The big moves in the business that are out of our control sort of wrote a different ending for us. So yeah, we’re bummed and annoyed but we also feel really, really good. Not just about the end of this with the series finale but also, between Brett and I, we’ve been involved in over 300 episodes of television. It’s something to be really proud of. We’re proud of the franchise but we’re also just a little bit irritated with the decisions that were made that put [the franchise] on pause earlier than we intended.”

There was sadness in Matthews’ voice when asked how he was feeling about wrapping up Legacies tonight but he remains positive about the franchise’s future.

“[What Julie said] is the honest answer. It’s all so bittersweet,” he said. “The Vampire Diaries is so important as is The Originals and Legacies and I know more will come as more people find it. So it doesn’t really feel like a goodbye to the franchise to me but the sadness is about saying goodbye to Legacies and the people we built great relationships with. I don’t fear for the future of it, but obviously, it’s all sad because it’s something we had no control over. I’m thankful we got to do it, excited to do it again probably momentarily.”

The duo is keeping mum about what they have brewing but they confirm there are ongoing conversations taking place.

“It’s coming eventually, that’s my hint,” Plec said with a laugh. “There’s nothing on the page yet but we’ve been having a lot of really good, fun conversations about how to launch the franchise into the next phase.”

She added, “I think it would be part of the universal timeline of the franchise but set in a different setting and with different characters.”

Legacies wrapped up with a little help from some old friends. Joseph Morgan returned as Klaus Mikaelson to share an emotional message with his daughter Hope (Danielle Rose Russell)—AND surprise TVD OG Candice King reprised the role of Caroline.

“Having Candice on the show was all Brett’s doing,” Plec said. “Candice, Brett, and I have created a beautiful friendship together throughout the years. We asked her 100 times to come do the show but as friends, we didn’t want to force the issue. So we waited until the timing was right.”

Added Matthews, “She made it really easy on us and told us how important Caroline Forbes is to her. It was really joyful to have her on set and felt great to work with her again in that capacity. I think the cast really enjoyed it too. I’m really thankful.”

Plec and Matthews were told to write Season 4 as if it would be the finale which helped with giving the story closure. But the pair had plans for where the story would go should the show had been renewed.

“I think we just would have teed up more stories and you will see ghosts of that in the finale because it was written before we knew the fate of the show,” said Matthews. “But the reality is it’s a tall task to do a thing that is either the end of a thing or the beginning of a new thing. Julie and I talked about Season 5 being a time jump kind of season—we were certainly built for that mythologically. It would have been fun to take these characters out into the world and see where they would come to in life and see them find their way back to one another. So I think it would have been a shake-up year no matter what. It would have been really good for the show and would have allowed the show to grow up a little bit with the kids as well.”

While the pair take their time to process the loss, Plec wrapped up the conversation hopeful.

“We’ll absolutely be back when we can. Even though I joke about my frustration with the show ending before I think Brett and I and the whole team really would have chosen, we are incredibly grateful to the CW for having been a home for this franchise for the last 13 years, 341 episodes under incredible leadership by Mark Pedowitz and his whole team. Also, the kindness of Michael Roberts and his current team and the way they trusted us. They were such good partners up to and including giving us a heads up about what was going on inside their company. We know that they fought for it and they wanted it and we’re really really, really grateful for our run with them. So even as I express my consternation, I remain really grateful to the CW and Warner Bros,” she said.