Season 7 of "The Vampire Diaries" will see Ian Somerhalder's Damon counting down the days before he gets to reunite with his one true love, Nina Dobrev's Elena Gilbert.
Season 6 of "The Vampire Diaries" concluded with Kai casting a sleeping spell on Elena and linking her life with Bonnie's in such a way that Elena will not wake up as long as Kat Graham's Bonnie lived.
This means Damon has to wait for about 60 years before he reunites with Elena. The long wait isn't going to be such a difficult task for Damon, as the first season saw him waiting close to 145 years. But because Elena isn't there to act as a guiding force, Damon will once again be the reckless vampire that he was in the first season.
And one person who will make it her job to see Damon doesn't cross his limits is Bonnie.
"Bonnie has sort of taken it upon herself to be the uninvited chaperone, which is funny because she and Damon have so much unspoken between them — the guilt, the resentments, the gratitude, there's a list of things they're dealing with," executive producer Julie Plec told TVLine.
"Watching them air it out together is actually really nice. We'll continue to watch their friendship build, because they really do owe each other a lot. They're going to go through this whole thing together, which is a fun dynamic we're exploring," the showrunner added.
Plec also spoke about a new love interest for Bonnie, whose previous boyfriend was Elena's younger brother Jeremy. However, things did not work out between them as Bonnie was stuck in Kai's prison world and Jeremy left town to become a vampire hunter.
Plec did not reveal who will be Bonnie's new lover, but hinted that viewers will be surprised by the choice.
"It comes strangely out of nowhere, but it will make a lot of sense. That's my enigmatic tease," she said.
"The Vampire Diaries" will return to the CW in October.