The Vampire Diaries franchise creator Julie Plec is keeping plenty busy following Legacies’ cancellation. While she recently signed a deal for five new shows, she has a supernatural series coming with a new group of vampires with Vampire Academy. Now, she is hyping up the show with some pretty sweet references.
Initially, Julie Plec called the new series a “Bridgerton with vampires.” However, while discussing Vampire Academy with EW, Plec not only compared it to the Netflix hit, but also compared it to movie franchise The Hunger Games:
It's really the story of the beginning of a revolution. In the midst of all the great opulent balls and royal intrigue, we're telling a Hunger Games-esque story, which caught us by surprise as we were breaking it. It's got everything: It's got the Bridgerton and the Hunger Games.
Vampire Academy is based on the novel of the same name by Richelle Mead, but it sounds like it’s going to expand beyond that world and include much, much more. The Bridgerton part of the series makes sense since the show will also be revolving around royalty at points, but similarities to The Hunger Games raise some intriguing new questions about what to expect.
The series was first announced in May 2021, with Plec and longtime collaborator Marguerite MacIntyre serving as co-showrunners. While the book was adapted into a movie in 2014, this is the first time it will become a TV show. The film and series will have no relation to each other, as both are solely based on the books.
Vampire Academy stars Sisi Stringer, Every Witch Way's Daniela Nieves, Kieron Moore, and Degrassi vet André Dae Kim. The series is set to premiere on Peacock on September 15 and consist of ten episodes. Be sure to get a Peacock subscription so you can watch it and see vampires battle it out Hunger Games-style and have royal drama that will remind you of Bridgerton, based on what Plec previewed!
Meanwhile, since Julie Plec has her hands full with multiple new shows, what does this mean for The Vampire Diaries Universe? Legacies’ finale had some closure, especially with the long-awaited appearance from Joseph Morgan’s Klaus Mikaelson, but that doesn’t mean this is the end. Following the series finale, Plec promised that while this is the end of a chapter, it can be used to “launch the beginning of another chapter.”
As for other projects, Julie Plec is teaming up with TVD co-creator Kevin Williamson to create a TV adaptation of Ryan Parrott’s comic book, Dead Day, for Peacock. The duo will serve as co-showrunners and writers, though not much else has been released for it. She also has new Netflix series, Confessions of a Drug-Addicted High School Teacher, starring TVD vet Paul Wesley, and HBO Max’s The Girls on the Bus starring Christina Elmore, Melissa Benoist, and Natasha Behnam.
Check out CinemaBlend’s 2022 TV schedule to see what else to look forward to on TV while you wait for the premiere of Vampire Academy!
