The First Teaser For The New Vampire Academy Show Is Thirsty AF

Vampires may be immortal by nature, but the fact that their stories never seem to go out of fashion certainly helps their cause. Since Bram Stoker initially introduced the concept of fanged bloodsuckers in Dracula, there have been stories about vampires for every generation, from Anne Rice to Twilight. One of the more recent popular book series, Richelle Mead’s Vampire Academy, is finally coming to the small screen via Peacock, and fans of the series are getting pumped for its release.

The original Vampire Academy novel first hit shelves in 2007 and spawned a series that spanned six books in total, with the final installment, Last Sacrifice, arriving in 2010. With the popularity of Twilight at the time, it’s not surprising that production studios immediately snapped up the rights to adapt the books. However, with that being in the pre-Game of Thrones and streaming era, it was initially adapted for the big screen. The resulting film, which arrived in 2014, was a massive bomb and critical flop, even though it starred one pre-Set It Up, Zoey Deutch.

But now, with Peacock at the helm, a new adaptation is on the way, this time in series form. Created by Marguerite MacIntyre and Julie Plec (the latter of whom was also behind the hit Vampire Diaries TV series), this 10-episode season looks to be the perfect cross between vampire royalty and teen high school soap.

Here’s everything to know about the new show:

Vampire Academy Trailer

The first trailer for Vampire Academy arrived on July 21, 2022, as part of the show’s panel at San Diego Comic-Con. Along with hungry vampires and thirsty power players, the series looks to have plenty of other kinds of thirst, romantic and otherwise.

Vampire Academy Cast

The books revolve around two half-sisters, Rose Hathaway and Lissa Dragomir. Rose is a Dhampir girl (meaning she’s half-human), while her sister Lissa is Moroi royalty. Daniela Nieves (All Rise) and Sisi Stringer (Mortal Kombat) will play the two leads, respectively.

But that’s only the beginning of the story, which features a colorful cast of characters who attend St. Vladimir’s Academy, a school that trains young vampires. Rose’s love interest, Dimitri Belikov, another Moroi vampire, will be played by Kieron Moore (Sex Education). The cast also includes André Dae Kim (Star Trek: Strange New Worlds) as fellow student Christian Oreza and J. August Richards (Angel) as Victor Dashkov.

The series will also co-star Andrew Liner (Grown-ish) as Mason Ashford, Jonetta Kaiser (Breakwater) as Sonya, plus several newcomers to the small screen, including Anita-Joy Uwajeh as Tatiana Vogel, Mia McKenna-Bruce as Mia Karp, and Rhian Blundell as Meredith.

Vampire Academy Plot

The novel brings Rose and Lissa, who have been BFFs since childhood, to St. Vladimir’s, where Rose begins training to be a guardian of Lissa, with whom she has an unbreakable psychic bond that defends her against Strigoi, troubled spirits that rise from the grave. As her time at the academy progresses, Rose finds herself caught in a forbidden romance with Dimitri and discovers something that could permanently shatter her relationship with Lissa.

The show’s logline (per Deadline) suggests it will follow this story, emphasizing Rose and Lissa’s relationship over the romance aspect.

Vampire Academy is set in a world of privilege and glamour, where two young women’s friendship transcends their strikingly different classes as they prepare to complete their education and enter royal vampire society. This serialized and sexy drama combines the elegance of aristocratic romance and the supernatural thrills of the vampire genre.

Speaking to Entertainment Weekly, Julie Plec compared the royal palace intrigue to Netflix’s recent aristocratic-set hit: “This is modern-day Bridgerton with vampires. Who’s not going to want to see that?”

Vampire Academy Peacock Release Date

Vampire Academy begins streaming weekly episodes on Sept. 15, 2022, on Peacock.