Peacock Hands Order To ‘Vampire Academy’ Series From Julie Plec
Just when you think Julie Plec is done with vampires, much like the creatures of the night themselves, she pops back up for another bite! This one, however, is unconnected to her ‘Vampire Diaries’ universe and will be based on the internationally bestselling ‘Vampire Academy‘ novels by Richelle Mead.
From executive producer Julie Plec comes a story of romance, friendship, death, sex, and scandal! In a world of privilege and glamour, two young women’s friendship transcends their strikingly different classes as they prepare to complete their education and enter royal vampire society. This serialized and sexy drama combines the elegance of aristocratic romance and the supernatural thrills of the vampire genre.
The 10-episode series comes from Universal Television and Julie Plec (‘The Vampire Diaries’, ‘The Originals’, ‘Legacies’), who serves as showrunner, writer and executive producer. Her longtime collaborator, Marguerite MacIntyre, will also serve as exec producer and co-showrunner. Emily Cummins, Don Murphy, Susan Montford, Deepak Nayer, Jillian DeFrehn also serve as exec producers.
“Julie Plec created one of the biggest fan-favourite universes with ‘The Vampire Diaries’ and its spin-off series ‘The Originals’ and ‘Legacies,’ and we are excited to deliver this passionate audience a brand new story on Peacock,” said Lisa Katz, President, Scripted Content, NBCUniversal Television and Streaming. “Julie is known for binge-able, enthralling dramas and we know ‘Vampire Academy’ will keep Peacock viewers right on the edge of their seats.”
The book series is apparently a personal favourite of Plec’s, who read them in the early 2000’s well before her time on Vampire Diaries. “When I signed my new deal with Universal Television, they asked what project I had always been dying to make and my immediate answer was ‘Vampire Academy,'” Plec commented.
Plec is most notably responsible for CW’s complete ‘Vampire Diaries’ Universe which has spanned eleven years and 300 episodes of television. Plec is also an executive producer of ‘Roswell, New Mexico’, which was recently renewed by the CW for a fourth season, along with ‘Legacies’. Her collaborator, Marguerite MacIntyre, is a versatile writer, producer and actor, who wrote and produced on three seasons of ‘The Originals’, limited drama series ‘Containment’, and was consulting producer on Season one of ‘Legacies’, all executive produced by Julie Plec.
This isn’t the first time Mead’s ‘Vampire Academy’ novels have been adapted for the screen. There was a film version released in 2014, with Zoey Deutch in the leading role, however, it was a commercial flop and critically panned, so I’m sure the tv series will be vastly superior!
“From ‘The Vampire Diaries’ to ‘The Originals,’ Julie has mastered captivating audiences with memorable characters, compelling storylines and delicious escapism,” said Erin Underhill, President, Universal TV. “‘Vampire Academy’ delivers them all! We are very excited to see Julie’s ambitious and creative vision of this distinct world come to life, and can’t wait to share the series with Peacock viewers. I have no doubt fans will love what she’s cooked up.”
‘Vampire Academy‘ will air on Peacock in the USA. Given NBC and Sky share a parent company, there is a fair chance the series may pop up on Sky One in the UK, but that is in no way confirmed. If you want to keep track of this series you can add it via our Never Miss system, and you’ll be notified when it gets a UK premiere date.
