When John Polidori wrote The Vampyre, he probably never expected vampires, over 200 years later, to evolve and remain a major part of the pop culture conversation. Like vampires themselves, their pop culture relevancy fades to the background and then creeps up on you when you least expect it. They’re never quite gone. But sometimes they take a nap. Once again, vampires are on their way to another comeback. This time Peacock’s Vampire Academy TV show may lead the rebirth.
It’ll definitely be in good company with other major vampire projects coming out soon, including the MCU’s Blade. Blade and Peacock’s Vampire Academy TV shows are two of the most anticipated upcoming vampire projects. Generally, this Peacock show is a must-add for your 2022 TV schedule.
Let’s discuss some of the things that we know so far about this upcoming TV show.
The Vampire Academy TV Show Premieres On Peacock In September 2022
The Vampire Academy TV show kicks off Peacock’s fall TV schedule with a September premiere. The show begins streaming on Peacock on September 15 (via Deadline). According to Hello Magazine, Peacock plans to release the first four episodes on that date and then release episodes weekly.
Some of the best shows to watch on Peacock have gone the weekly route. I believe that Peacock will probably release two episodes a week, after the premiere week, for the next three weeks.
The Peacock Series Has 10 Episodes In Season 1
Peacock gave Vampire Academy a straight-to-series order in May 2021. With this order also came the reveal that there would be 10 hour-long episodes in the first season. This gives the TV show plenty of time to flesh out characters, storylines, set up the Vampire Academy universe, and start building the foundation for future seasons.
Hopefully, this also allows it to satisfy some existing fans and start making new ones.
Julie Plec Acts As Showrunner
Julie Plec may be one of the best-known showrunners for teen vampire show fans. She took over as The Vampire Diaries showrunner during the third season. She then became showrunner and executive producer for all the Vampire Diaries spin-off series: The Originals and Legacies.
Vampire shows are kind of Plec’s expertise. This may mean that she is the perfect person to take on Vampire Academy. In an Entertainment Weekly interview, Plec shared that she originally came up with the idea to adapt the Vampire Academy books into a TV show after reading the first book in 2007.
However, it wasn’t until Plec got an overall deal with Universal Television that she could make this dream a reality. It is one of the first of many shows that she has in the works with the company. Plec will be the showrunner of the Vampire Academy TV show with Marguerite MacIntyre. MacIntyre has worked with Plec on many different projects, including being part of The Vampire Diaries cast.
Plec will also direct a few episodes. The other Vampire Academy directors include Bille Woodruff, Luis Prieto, Jesse Warn, Erica Dunton, and Geoff Shotz.
The Vampire Academy TV Show Was Described As Hunger Games Meets Bridgerton
Vampire Academy is about two best friends who have different roles in this society of vampires. They’re approaching their last year at school. This means that they must enter the real world and take on different roles based on their class status. One is in line to become a royal and the other is training to protect her.
In an MTV interview, Sisi Stringer and Daniela Nieves, the main female leads, described their characters as “platonic soulmates.” Their bond and love for one another are really the heart of the Vampire Academy world. In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Plec also discussed the friendship between the two lead characters:
At its core, it's a story about a friendship that nobody thinks can survive because society isn't built that way — and yet, through thick and thin, they have each other's backs.
In the same Entertainment Weekly interview, Plec revealed that when she pitched the show, she called it “Bridgerton with Vampires.” Plec further describes the Vampire Academy TV show. She described it as a Bridgerton and Hunger Games mashup:
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.
It definitely seems like it’s going to be a show with lots of ballroom scenes and a look at high society vampires, along with introducing a new vampire mythology.
The Vampire Academy TV Cast Includes A Former Angel Cast Member
The Vampire Academy cast has quite a large ensemble. It’s a combination of rising stars, newcomers, and Hollywood veterans. Leading the cast is Sisi Stringer as Rose Hathaway, a vampire-human hybrid who is a strong fighter ready for any battle. Daniela Nieves, plays Lissa Dragomir, a royal vampire. She doesn’t care about her royal birthright but that changes after a death in her family.
Kieron Moore plays Dimitri Belikov, a Dhampir guardian who lives by a strict code. Andre Dae Kim plays Christian Ozera, a royal vampire who is a bit of an outcast in high society. J. August Richards, who you may remember from the Angel cast, plays Victor, a noble vampire who's a kind and respected adviser.
The cast also includes Anita-Joy Uwajeh as Tatiana, Mia Mckenna-Bruce as Mia, Rhian Blundell as Meredith, Jonetta Kaiser as Sonya, Andrew Liner as Mason, and a yet-to-be-named actor as Adrian Ivashkov. In an E! Online interview, Plec and MacIntyre teased that a fan-favorite would make his debut in Vampire Academy Season 1, Episode 6. They didn’t directly say the character’s name but gave plenty of hints to imply that Adrian would make a grand entrance in season one.
The First Vampire Academy Teaser Shows Love, Romance, And A Battle For The Crown
During San Diego Comic-Con 2022, Peacock released the first trailer for the Vampire Academy TV show. The about a minute and a half trailer doesn’t show too much, but gives enough to make those unfamiliar with the world of Vampire Academy intrigued to see more. It helps set up this world of vampire royalty, along with giving plenty of clips of some of the main characters.
We also see plenty of action, romance, and vampire shenanigans. Fans of the Vampire Academy books probably recognized plenty of familiar scenes, and maybe a few new scenes that were created just for the TV series.
The TV Show Will Have Some Changes To "Reflect The World We Live In Now"
The Vampire Academy movie had plenty of differences from the books. The TV show may stray even further. In the same Hello Magazine interview, Plec mentioned that Richelle Mead’s books build up to the politics that exist within this world, but Plec wanted to jump right into the class system and fight for the throne.
The show plans to dig more into stories that weren’t completely explored in the books. Some characters will also be combined or have some changes to their personalities, looks, or histories. The Vampire Academy TV show also has a much more racially diverse cast than portrayed in the book, and includes some LGBTQ+ love stories that weren’t originally present. Plec explained to Hello why she chose to make these changes:
I have an incredible respect for fandom and my entire career is built on the enthusiasm of fandom, but when it comes down to ‘well, Rose isn’t white or Lissa doesn’t have blonde hair, or so and so isn't queer in the books'? Well, the books were written 15 years ago and we have to tell stories that reflect the world we live in now.
In the same MTV interview, Sisi Stringer and Daniela Nieves called the show a “modern adaptation,” and they said that the themes, characters, plot, secrets, and “essence” of the books are still present in the Vampire Academy TV series.
Andre Dae Kim also added this about the modernizing of the TV show:
I think the big thing, one of the big things for us is diversity. And I think that we really find that important. We wanted to showcase our world as a representative of what the world is today. And I mean, it hasn’t flown over my head that I haven’t seen a lot of Asian vampires growing up.
He hoped the diversity in this TV show would inspire others. They would maybe see that they could be anything they want, even if that means a vampire. In an E! Online interview, the cast talked about their hopes for viewers to embrace the show. They also believed that the existing fans would be satisfied with this adaptation.
The Vampire Academy TV show begins streaming on Peacock premium on September 15.
