The Vampire Diaries co-creators Kevin Williamson and Julie Plec have just had their latest series scrapped by Peacock, even though it was already picked up for a full-episode order. The series, titled Dead Day, was going to be based on the comic book of the same name by Ryan Parrott. The comic follows the titular celebration, which is the one day a year that the dead can return to the world of the living to pursue their unfinished business. Dead Day comes across like a mix between Día de Los Muertos and The Purge, as some of the dead have business more evil and terrifying than others.
Per Deadline, Peacock has given the ax to the Vampire Diaries duo’s Dead Day adaptation, which is no longer moving forward. This news comes in spite of the fact that the show was originally picked up straight-to-series, making Dead Day the latest series to fall afoul of the scheduling shakeups that have been happening at various streaming services in recent months. Reportedly, Plec and Williamson are currently shopping the series around at other networks.
Although Peacock backed out on Dead Day, their relationship with Williamson has still borne fruit and is likely to continue going on strong. Earlier this month, they exclusively released the new slasher Sick, which Williamson, who penned the original 1996 Scream in addition to its sequel and 1997’s I Know What You Did Last Summer, co-wrote with Katelyn Crabb. The film, which was directed by John Hyams, followed two young women quarantining at a secluded lake house during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, only to find their bucolic safety shattered by the arrival of a knife-wielding killer.
Williamson also has at least one other project lined up with Peacock in addition to Sick. It has already been announced that he will be penning an episode of their upcoming Friday the 13th prequel series Crystal Lake, which was announced in October 2022. The series, which will also feature the return of original Friday the 13th Final Girl Adrienne King, comes from Hannibal creator Bryan Fuller and is set to follow the origins of Jason Voorhees and his mother Pamela.
Plec’s relationship with Peacock will also be continuing, as the Vampire Diaries co-creator is still attached to their upcoming series Freeman in addition to other projects currently in development. Hopefully one of these new series will strike gold, as Plec has amassed a sizable fan base who have received more than their share of disappointment recently. The creator has had a run of bad luck, as Peacock has also canceled her new YA adaptation Vampire Academy after one season, news that came just a few months after The CW took the ax to her Vampire Diaries Universe spinoff Legacies.
Source: Deadline
