'The Vampire Diaries' Creators Bring New 'Dead Day' Series To Life!
By Kristin Myers on January 29, 2022 at 4:30 PM EST
An adaption of the comic book series "Dead Day" is on the way from the creators of "The Vampire Diaries."
According to Deadline, creators Julie Plec and Kevin Williamson are bringing the new series to Peacock. They will both serve as showrunners and writers of the fledgling series.
What Is 'Dead Day' About?
The new series will be an adaptation of Ryan Parrott’s comic book "Dead Day." The comics were published by Aftershock Comics in 2020. Parrott will serve as a consulting producer of the new Peacock series.
The comic book series follows a series of characters trying to survive the titular "Dead Day." One night a year, the dead return to the realm of the living to either celebrate the lives they left behind or to settle unfinished business.
The story will follow the Haskins family, a seemingly normal suburban family preparing for yet another year of the undead undertaking.
President of Scripted Content at NBC Universal Television and Streaming, Lisa Katz, said, "Dead Day combines an exciting, high-concept premise with relatable characters and real emotion.
"We jumped at the opportunity to work with Julie Plec and Kevin Williamson, who not only have tremendous individual track records with their high-quality storytelling, but have created magic together before," she added.
Who Are Julie Plec And Kevin Williamson?
The two showrunners were the masterminds behind the popular "The Vampire Diaries" series on the CW. The show ran for eight seasons on the network and spawned numerous spin-off series, including "The Originals" and "Legacies."
Since that time, Plec has gone on to produce another young adult supernatural series for Peacock called "Vampire Academy." Plec is also the executive producer behind the NBC series "The Endgame," which premieres next month.
Williamson had received acclaim for the "Scream" franchise and recently served as an executive producer in the fifth "Scream" film that hit theaters earlier this month. He is also working on the thriller "Sick" for Miramax Studios.
Vivian Cannon of Universal Television said that she was also excited to bring Plec and Williamson on board. "Julie Plec and Kevin Williamson are each a powerhouse unto themselves, so we couldn’t have been more excited when they told us they wanted to team up again," she said.
"Dead Day will be everything Julie and Kevin’s audiences love about their work—emotional, unexpected, and totally bingeable," she added.
What Was 'The Vampire Diaries'?
"The Vampire Diaries" was a supernatural teen drama series that ran from 2009 to 2017. It was based on the book series created by author L.J. Smith.
The series tells the story of two vampire brothers Stefan Salvatore (PaulWesley) and Damon Salvatore (IanSomerhalder) returning to their fictional home of Mystic Falls, Virginia. The two brothers had a falling out after they both fell in love with vampire Katherine Pierce (Nina Dobrev) in the 1800s.
In the modern-day, Stefan returns to Mystic Falls only to meet and fall in love with Katherine's doppelganger, human Elena Gilbert, who was also played by Nina Dobrev. Elena and her friends Caroline Forbes (CandiceKing) and witch Bonnie Bennett (Kat Graham) find themselves fighting the supernatural while still trying to graduate high school.
What Did Critics Think Of 'The Vampire Diaries'?
On Rotten Tomatoes, the series has an overall fresh rating of 86% and an audience score of 69%. For fans looking to binge-watch "The Vampire Diaries" before giving "Dead Day" a try, most of the critic reviews are pretty solid.
Sarah Hughes of the UK Independent wrote, "It might not be the most groundbreaking show on television right now, but it's a well-crafted, interestingly developed series, which really kicks up a gear after an anodyne opening episode."
Matthew Gilbert (no relation to Elena) of the Boston Globe wrote, "The Vampire Diaries nonetheless satisfactorily opens up yet another TV world of heightened youth, where blood-sucking is a metaphor for a whole range of fears and desires."
Ginia Bellafante of the New York Times wrote, "There's an engrossing moodiness to Mr. Williamson's latest venture, but one he conveys without annulling the pact he long ago made with himself never to let his cheekiness go undetected."
Linda Stasi of the New York Post joked, "I'm so hooked after one episode that I feel like Vlad the Impaler when he was down to his last half-pint of O positive."
Seasons 1-8 of "The Vampire Diaries" is currently available to stream on Netflix.
