Vampire Diaries co-creator Julie Plec reveals development slate under Universal TV deal

US creator and producer Julie Plec (The Vampire Diaries) has revealed a raft of projects in development through her overall deal with Universal Television and has made a pair of appointments at her production banner, My So-Called Company.

Julie Plec

In development with Peacock is Clifton, an adaptation of Margaret Peterson Haddix’s novel Running Out of Time. Screenwriter Aisha Porter-Christie is adapting the story, which is about a 17-year-old who learns the truth about her island village of Clifton – a sanctuary for runaway slaves and others who fled the US at the height of the Civil War – when a mysterious stranger from the mainland washes up on shore.

The project is executive produced by Plec and Emily Cummins for My So-Called Company and Kevin Misher for Misher Films.

In total, Plec has 10 projects in the works under her multi-year deal with Universal Television, where she has been based since 2020 after moving on from Warner Bros Television. Plec is executive producing each project alongside Cummins, who is the president of My So-Called Company.

Also in development are drama series Douglass Medical, created and written by Ayanna Floyd, about a doctor who is forced to return home to Washington DC in the wake of a devastating professional scandal, and Freeman, created and written by Adam Starks, about a family that moves to a picturesque town in Georgia after acquiring a lucrative inheritance, including the mysterious house known as Freeman Manor.

The other projects on the slate are romantic dramedy Stay Gold, which centres on a transgender teenager who struggles to establish a new identity when he joins a new high school. The project is based on a book of the same name by author Tobly McSmith, who will co-write the adaptation alongside screenwriter and producer Drew Greenberg.

My So-Called Company is also developing This Savage Song, based on a novel by Victoria Schwab. Plec and Schwab are adapting the romantic horror fantasy set in a world where violent acts breed actual monsters. Gina Marcheschi will exec produce alongside Plec and Cummins.

These projects join others that have already been ordered to series, including Dead Day and Vampire Academy, both of which were commissioned by Peacock.

In addition, former ABC Signature exec Marc Parra has joined My So-Called Company as creative executive, while Joey DeAngelis has been promoted to director of development.

Erin Underhill, president of Universal Television, said: “When we closed our deal with Julie, we said the sky’s the limit, and she’s absolutely reaching new heights with this upcoming roster.

“The depth and breadth of her development slate, from doctors to monsters and soap to spectacle, proves that Julie’s creativity is boundless, and we’re excited to bring these diverse projects to market in the near future.”