There’s something remarkably sexy about super human strength, glowing white skin, rock-solid muscles and overly pointy eye teeth. Oh, and that whole, “He might just suck my blood” adrenaline rush adds to the package. The concept is currently making teenage girls, and grown adults alike, swoon over any movie or TV show featuring drool-worthy vampires.

That’s the case for the CW’s new show, “The Vampire Diaries,” which airs Thursdays at 7 p.m.

The characters in the show struggle with drug addiction, grief over the loss of parents, jealousy and high school drama in the quaint city of Mystic Falls. A vampire mystery begins to unfold as dead bodies accumulate in the woods.

Enter the greatness that is Stefan Salvitore (Paul Wesley), the “good” vampire of the series. Stefan sustains himself by drinking animal blood and living his life in denial for the good of surrounding society. He returns to Mystic Falls nearly 150 years after his family helped to found the small Virginian town. Still wounded from the betrayal of his first true love, Katherine, he has returned to Mystic Falls to pursue a relationship with the town’s golden girl, Elena Gilbert (Nina Dobrev).

Just as Elena and her brother Justin are just beginning to recover from the loss of their parents in a tragic car accident, their world gets turned upside down. Stefan’s evil brother, Damon (Ian Somerhalder), also returns to Mystic Falls. He’s set on keeping his brother from finding happiness, and in the process, drains the blood from countless bodies.

Although the basic idea of these vampires is the same—gorgeous bod, dark brooding personality, ridiculous capacity to fall madly in love and super-human strength—this series, which is based off the eight-part book series by L. J. Smith, originated before Stephenie Meyer’s popular Twilight series captured worldwide success. The vampires in this series can burn in the sun (they have a trusty ring to keep that from happening), have a sort of kryptonite that paralyzes them (an herb called Urbane) and have a mind-manipulating ability for covering their tracks.

Besides being another vampire series, this has hit the mark on vampire pop culture. For someone looking for a weekly hit to fuel their obsession with handsome, heartbreaker vampires, this may be it.

“The Vampire Diaries” shows that the dirtier aspects of life—drugs, drinking, sex, jealousy and lies—all have a place in this take on the supernatural. Just remember that vampires really don’t exist in real life—they’re just here for entertainment—and real boys aren’t Stefans or Edwards. Though I’m sure many girls would love for them to try.

IF YOU’RE WATCHING:
WHEN: “The Vampire Diaries” airs at 7 p.m. on Thursdays on the CW Channel.