Julie Plec and Kevin Williamson’s adaptation of Ryan Parrott and Evgeniy Bornyakov’s Dead Day is no longer moving forward at Peacock.
The Vampire Diaries creators Julie Plec and Kevin Williamson’s planned television adaptation of Ryan Parrott and Evgeniy Bornyakov’s horror comic book series Dead Day has been scrapped by Peacock.
According to Variety, Plec and Williamson’s Dead Day adaptation is no longer moving forward at Peacock, despite the NBCUniversal-owned streamer having given the project a straight-to-series order last January. In light of this, Universal Television is reportedly planning to shop the comic book show to other outlets. Seeing as how Peacock bought Dead Day preemptively, this will mark the first time that Plec and Williamson’s new series has been shown to other potential buyers.
This development follows a larger, industry-wide trend of projects being axed despite having already been ordered or renewed. One recent example is the Warner Bros. Discovery-owned TNT deciding not to air the completed final season of Snowpiercer, with the graphic novel adaptation also in search of a new home to finish out its run (and chart out its potential future). Moreover, Netflix recently pulled the plug on its adult animated series Inside Job, reversing its previous decision to renew the show for Season 2. Peacock in particular seems to be shifting its focus to easy-to-watch comedies and dramas that follow an event-series format.
News of Dead Day being scrapped also comes shortly after Plec and Marguerite MacIntyre’s adaptation of the YA novel series Vampire Academy was similarly canceled by Peacock after one season. That said, Plec is still working on Freeman for Peacock, as well as The Girls on the Bus for HBO Max. Meanwhile, Plec’s Vampire Diaries co-creator Williamson — who is perhaps best known for also co-creating the Scream film franchise with the late Wes Craven — serves as an executive producer on Paramount’s Scream VI, which is due to bow in theaters this March. Additionally, Williamson recently co-wrote and produced the Peacock slasher film Sick.
What Is Dead Day About?
At this time, Plec remains under an overall deal with Universal TV, which she signed back in 2020. Prior to Peacock pulling the plug on the project, Plec and Williamson were attached to serve as writers, executive producers and co-showrunners on Dead Day. The show would have followed “an ensemble of characters as they navigate the annual ‘dead day,’ when for one night the dead come back to complete unfinished business, be that to celebrate a night back on earth or to torment the living.”
This logline follows the premise of the original comic book series to a T. Created and written by Parrot, illustrated by Bornyakov, colored by JUANCHO! and lettered by Charles Pritchett, Dead Day initially launched from AfterShock Comics in May 2020. The limited series ran for a total of five issues, concluding in November 2011. All five issues were then collected into a single trade paperback volume, which hit shelves in March 2021.
Source: Variety
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