Vampire Academy
Genre
Based onVampire Academy
by Richelle Mead
Developed byJulie Plec
&
Marguerite MacIntyre
Starring
Music byJacob Yoffee
&
Roahn Hylton
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons1
No. of episodes10
Production
Executive producers
Producers
  • José Luis Escolar
  • Cory Kaplan
Production locations
  • Spain
  • Portugal
Cinematography
  • Scott Peck
  • Stefan Ciupek
  • Cary Lalonde
Editors
Running time45–55 minutes
Production companies
  • Angry Films Entertainment
  • Kintop Pictures
  • My So-Called Company
  • Big Whoop Productions Inc.
  • Universal Television
Original release
NetworkPeacock
ReleaseSeptember 15 (2022-09-15) –
October 27, 2022 (2022-10-27)

Vampire Academy is an American fantasy horror television series based on the novels series of the same name by Richelle Mead.[1] Adapted for Peacock by Julie Plec and Marguerite MacIntyre, the series is produced by Universal Television. It stars Sisi Stringer, Daniela Nieves, Kieron Moore and André Dae Kim alongside an ensemble cast.

It is the second adaptation of the novel series, after the 2014 film of the same name, and serves as a reboot. Unlike the film, it does not adapt a particular novel of Mead's series, but instead takes the basics, inspirations, and elements from the six novels, using them to tell a different story. It was given a straight-to-series order in May 2021 by Peacock, and casting announcements were made in 2021. The filming took place in Spain and Portugal.

The series features characters from the books and re-imagined versions of others. It revolves around Rose Hathaway who is a guardian-in-training Dhampir, and Lissa Dragomir, who is a Moroi princess, and follows their life and adventures at the St Vladimir's Academy, a boarding school.[2]

The series premiered on September 15, 2022 on Peacock to generally positive reviews.[3] In January 2023, the series was canceled after one season.[4]

Cast

Main

Recurring

Episodes

No.TitleDirected byTeleplay byOriginal release date [5]
1"Pilot"Bille WoodruffMarguerite MacIntyre & Julie PlecSeptember 15, 2022 (2022-09-15)
With their lives upended by tragedy, Rose's place is uncertain as Lissa faces a new role in court.
2"Earth. Air. Water. Fire."Luis PrietoLinda GeSeptember 15, 2022 (2022-09-15)
Lissa fears the world will learn her secret. Rose must face the consequences of her actions.
3"Death Watch"Luis PrietoMorenike Balogun-KochSeptember 15, 2022 (2022-09-15)
The Dominion suffers a great loss. Rose meets her match. Christian receives shocking news.
4"Benchmark"Jesse WarnJason CoffeySeptember 15, 2022 (2022-09-15)
Rose faces a defining test as a Guardian. Victor offers Lissa a chance to improve the Dominion.
5"Near Guard, Far Guard"Jesse WarnAdam StarksSeptember 22, 2022 (2022-09-22)
Rose proves she's a great leader, but at a terrible price. Lissa takes matters into her own hands.
6"Molnija"Erica DuntonY. Shireen RazackSeptember 29, 2022 (2022-09-29)
On the royal tour, Rose tries to find peace. Lissa seeks answers about her magic.
7"Beyond the Wards"Erica DuntonJ.J. BraiderOctober 6, 2022 (2022-10-06)
Rose and Lissa's quest for answers leads them beyond the borders of the world they've always known.
8"The Trials"Julie PlecNoah DiazOctober 13, 2022 (2022-10-13)
The fight for the throne comes to a head. Victor hides his secret. Rose investigates the enemy.
9"Darkness"Geoffrey Wing ShotzTawal Panyacosit, Jr & Benjamin O'HaraOctober 20, 2022 (2022-10-20)
The aftermath of the Trials throws the Dominion into chaos. Christian faces a horrific truth.
10"Ascension"Geoffrey Wing ShotzMarguerite MacIntyreOctober 27, 2022 (2022-10-27)
The citizens of the Dominion must come together to face their greatest threat yet.

Production

Development

In 2010, Preger Entertainment optioned the film rights to the Vampire Academy series by Richelle Mead. The film, based on the first book, was released theatrically in United States in February 2014 and was a box-office bomb.[6] Following the movie failure, Preger Entertainment launched a Indiegogo campaign to help fund the production for a sequel based on the second novel, Frostbite. However, the campaign failed to reach its goal and the project was ultimately cancelled.[7]

In March 2015, Julie Plec expressed on Twitter a desire to adapt the books into a television series. In May 2021, Peacock picked up Vampire Academy straight-to-series with Plec and Marguerite MacIntyre as developers and also expected to executive produce alongside Emily Cummins and Jillian DeFrehn, as part of Plec overall deal at Universal Television. Don Murphy, Susan Montford, and Deepak Nayar, who produced the 2014 film, also joined the series as executive producers.[8]

On January 20, 2023, Peacock canceled the series after one season.[4] Though Plec initially announced that they were shopping the series to other platforms, she confirmed in April 2023 that cast contracts had expired, ending chances of a revival.[9]

Casting

In August 2021, the core cast for the series was set, including Sisi Stringer as Rose Hathaway, Daniela Nieves as Lissa Dragomir, Kieron Moore as Dimitri Belikov, and André Dae Kim as Christian Ozera. J. August Richards, Jonetta Kaiser, and Andrew Liner were cast as Victor Dashkov, Sonya Karp, and Mason Ashford, respectively. Anita-Joy Uwajeh joined the cast as Tatiana Vogel, while Mia McKenna-Bruce signed for the role of Mia Karp, two re-imagined versions of characters from the books, Tatiana Ivashkov, and Mia Rinaldi. Rhian Blundell was announced to play Meredith, a minor characters in the books.[10] In August 2022, Angela Wynter, Lorna Brown, Louisa Connolly-Burnham, Cornelius Macarthy, Jason Diaz, Jennifer Kirby, Joseph Ollman, and Pik-Sen Lim were cast in recurring capacities.[11]

Filming

Filming had begun in Spain in locations such as Pamplona, Olite, Viana and Zaragoza in September 2021, as revealed by Bille Woodruff, who directed the pilot, and Julie Plec.[12][13] The series was also filmed in Portugal.[14]

Release

Vampire Academy premiered on Peacock on September 15, 2022.[3]

Reception

The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported a 77% approval rating with an average rating of 7.4/10, based on 13 critic reviews.[15] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned a score of 59 out of 100 based on 7 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[16]

References

  1. ^ Murphy, J. Kim (August 17, 2022). "'Vampire Academy' Trailer Unveils Peacock's Adaptation of the Young Adult Book Series". Variety. Archived from the original on September 5, 2022. Retrieved September 5, 2022.
  2. ^ "Vampire Academy Trailer: 'Rebellion Rules the Night' in Peacock Adaptation of Richelle Mead's Book Series". TVLine. August 17, 2022. Archived from the original on September 5, 2022. Retrieved September 5, 2022.
  3. ^ a b Schwartz, Ryan (June 29, 2022). "Pitch Perfect and Best Man Sequels, Julie Plec's Vampire Academy Among 10 Peacock Release Dates — See Full Slate". TVLine. Archived from the original on July 3, 2022. Retrieved June 29, 2022.
  4. ^ a b White, Peter (January 20, 2023). "'One Of Us Is Lying' & 'Vampire Academy' Cancelled At Peacock". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on January 21, 2023. Retrieved January 20, 2023.
  5. ^ "Shows A-Z - vampire academy on peacock". The Futon Critic. Retrieved August 17, 2022.
  6. ^ New York Times Bestselling Series 'Vampire Academy' Staked by Preger Entertainment – LOS ANGELES, June 29 /PRNewswire/ Archived December 2, 2013, at the Wayback Machine. Prnewswire.com (June 29, 2010). Retrieved on 2010-12-30.
  7. ^ Mendelson, Scott (September 10, 2014). "'Dredd 2,' 'Vampire Academy 2,' And Sequels To Flop Originals That Will Never Be". Forbes. Archived from the original on May 20, 2021. Retrieved May 19, 2021.
  8. ^ Whte, Peter (May 19, 2021). "'Vampire Academy' Series Adaptation From Julie Plec & Marguerite MacIntyre Ordered At Peacock". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on July 25, 2021. Retrieved August 30, 2021.
  9. ^ Julie Plec [@julieplec] (April 23, 2023). "This is incredible that you're doing this. I do want to let you all know that our actors contracts have recently expired and they're all free to go find (hopefully fantastic) new jobs. We did everything we could during the time we had & you never know what the future could bring" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  10. ^ Del Rosario, Alexandra (August 30, 2021). "'Vampire Academy': Sisi Stringer, Daniela Nieves & Kieron Moore Among 10 Cast In Peacock YA Drama Series". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on August 30, 2021. Retrieved August 30, 2021.
  11. ^ Zee, Michaela (August 18, 2022). "'Vampire Academy' Casts 8 Recurring Guest Stars (EXCLUSIVE) — TV News Roundup". Variety. Archived from the original on September 27, 2022. Retrieved September 27, 2022.
  12. ^ Woodruff, Bille [@billewoodruff] (September 20, 2021). "Day One 🩸 #VampireAcademy Pilot 🎬#DirectorLife 🚀🚀". Retrieved September 22, 2021 – via Instagram.
  13. ^ Plec, Julie [@julieplec] (September 20, 2021). "Here we go. #vampireacademy". Retrieved September 22, 2021 – via Instagram.
  14. ^ Shrestha, Naman (September 14, 2022). "Where is Vampire Academy Filmed?". The Cinemaholic. Archived from the original on September 15, 2022. Retrieved September 17, 2022.
  15. ^ "Vampire Academy: Season 1". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved January 21, 2023.
  16. ^ "Vampire Academy: Season 1". Metacritic. Fandom, Inc. Retrieved October 25, 2022.

External links

Peacock original programming
Richelle Mead
Categories