The Vampire Diaries Season 6 Picks Up After a "Substantial Time Jump"

The Vampire Diaries tends to mix it up when it comes to the narrative time jump between seasons. Sometimes, the next season picks up mere minutes or hours following the end of the last season. Other times, as was the case with last season, months have passed. It seems that TVD will be taking the latter option for Season 6. What did executive producer Julie Plec tell TV Guide about the time jump between Season 5 and Season 6?
“There's a substantial time jump which we're excited about,” Julie teased. “It gives us the opportunity to find these people again with enough time having passed that the grief has settled into a reality that is making them either actively move forward with their lives, spiral to a different place or make really bold and rash decisions in how they're going to live their lives without these people in them.”
We’re totally down for this. Time jumps can be a good way to make a new season seem fresh, and this seems particularly important given that TVD is entering its sixth season and certain story cycles have become all-too-familiar. We know so much about these characters. By creating months (if not longer) of off-screen story we haven’t been privy to as viewers, there are new facets to these characters and stories that are unknown to us. Uncertainties that can create dramatic tension for viewers.
As for the adjective “substantial,” we’re intrigued to know what that might mean. We’ve never seen TVD jump more than a few months. Is that what we’re looking at — will a summer have passed, as it did last hiatus — or will it be longer? Will Elena and Caroline be well into their sophomore year of college? We’re intrigued by this possibility…