Is Vampire Academy Related to The Vampire Diaries? – The Vampire Academy will be directed by Julie Plec, the creator of The Originals and The Vampire Diaries. All three programs are set in a world where vampires are real.
One-half of the top team behind The Vampire Diaries, Julie Plec, has launched a new fantasy horror series set at a boarding school for vampires and Dhampirs (half vampires).
The universe of Peacock’s “Vampire Academy” is one in which vampires coexist with humans while still having their own society and set of laws. Most of the action occurs on a school’s campus, where top-tier vampires study elemental power while half-vampires prepare to serve as their guardians. Between these class distinctions, which pose numerous obstacles in the interactions between the vampires, Rose and Lissa establish a close connection, supporting one another in good times and bad.
The broad setting of “Vampire Academy” and the creation of a distinctive mythology centered on immortal beings set it apart from other vampire tales. It’s even more intriguing because Julie Plec, who also worked on another famous vampire YA drama called “The Vampire Diaries,” co-created it. Does this imply a connection between the two programs? Let’s investigate.
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Are The Vampire Diaries and Vampire Academy Connected?
Although “The Vampire Diaries” and “Vampire Academy” are both set in a vampire-populated world, there is no overarching theme that runs through the two programs’ plots. But there are a few things they have in common. Both programs are based on separate book series. While “Vampire Academy” finds inspiration from Richelle Mead’s books, “The Vampire Diaries” is based on L.J. Smith’s novels. Julie Plec, a co-creator of “Vampire Academy,” and Marguerite MacIntyre, who played Sheriff Liz Forbes, the mother of one of the main characters, Caroline Forbes, in “The Vampire Diaries,” are both involved in the development of both projects.
The stories of Rose and Lissa, who have been best friends since infancy, and the latter of whom has magical abilities, are the subjects of “Vampire Academy.” The loss of Lissa’s parents serves as the catalyst for the events. The central relationship in “The Vampire Diaries,” where Bonnie Bennet is a witch, is that between Elena Gilbert and Bonnie. The plot of “TVD” starts after the horrific tragedy in which Elena’s parents pass away. Elena’s brother survives, unlike Lissa. The main protagonists in both shows are young adults who indulge in intricate relationships while they explore their pasts and fight vampires who are far more treacherous and dangerous than the ones they have grown to know and love.
The ideas and more extensive scope of the storylines are where the distinctions start to emerge, even though the baseline of both series feels pretty similar. Years had gone by while Plec and MacIntyre worked on vampire stories. Their partnership began with “TVD,” and they continued to collaborate on its spin-offs, “The Originals” and “Legacies,” before coming back together for “Vampire Academy.” The two explained that each of these shows conveys a different story, although they all feature blood-sucking immortals as their subjects.
“Vampire Diaries was about trying to survive a deep grief. The Originals was about trying to recover and repair [from] the scars of abuse and [a] dysfunctional broken family. Legacies [is]about wanting to, if you’re looked at as an outsider, how can you find the power within that and actually grow into your own hero? Vampire Academy is very much [about] what it means to bond together with those you love the most, and then make the change you want to see in the world,” according to Plec.
The storytelling in “Vampire Academy” was influenced by Plec and MacIntyre’s prior programs, especially for the elements they intended to maintain distinct from them. When dealing with the same creatures for so long, Mead’s distinctive depiction of vampires—divided into Moroi, Dhampir, and Strigoi—helped them try something new. In contrast to “TVD” and its spin-offs, all of which expand their worlds with other supernatural beings like werewolves and witches, among others, “Vampire Academy’s” singular focus on vampires is a welcome change.
The sensation of having accomplished many things after spending the last 13 years in that franchise was beautiful. How can I now push myself to perform it otherwise? Instead of just using my tried-and-true methods, Plec stated he was “freshening up my suitcase of narrative ideas.”
Plec compares “Vampire Academy” to “Bridgerton” and “The Hunger Games,” whereas “TVD” is more akin to “Riverdale” and “Twilight.” With all of this in mind, it is evident that “TVD” and “Vampire Academy” are extremely distinct series, even if they belong to the same genre and have similar basic plots.
Vampire Academy premieres on Peacock on September 15 in the US, and September 16 via NOW on September 16 in the UK.