Everything To Know About Vampire Academy Season 1

Peacock is delving into the world of supernatural YA drama with Vampire Academy. Based on a six-book series of paranormal romance novels by Richelle Mead, Vampire Academy is about Rose Hathaway and Lissa Dragomir, two young women whose friendship transcends their strikingly different social classes. Lissa is a powerful royal vampire, while Rose is a half-vampire guardian trained to protect elites like Lissa. The series kicks off as they’re preparing to complete their education at St. Vladimir’s Academy and enter vampire high society. But along the way they get entangled in forbidden romances and clash with the Strigoi — evil and dangerous vampires determined to turn Lissa into one of them.

The team behind the series is no stranger to steamy, melodramatic stories: the showrunner is Vampire Diaries co-creator Julie Plec, and she teamed up with The Originals writer Margeurite MacIntyre to adapt the novel. "We took all the incredible inspiration from Richelle Mead's books — all her rules, her mythology, her characters — and we folded that into this vampire dominion that we built from scratch," Plec told Entertainment Weekly. "I've never done a world build that intricate before. It was a million times harder than anything I've done."

Describing the story as "Bridgerton with vampires," Plec said that it also definitely has some dystopian vibes. "It's really the story of the beginning of a revolution," Plec told Entertainment Weekly. "In the midst of all the great opulent balls and royal intrigue, we're telling a Hunger Games-esque story, which caught us by surprise as we were breaking it."

Here’s everything else to know about the highly anticipated vampire saga.

The Vampire Academy Trailer

Peacock released a teaser trailer for the series on Thursday, July 21 at a San Diego Comic-Con panel. The trailer focuses on Rose and Lissa’s friendship and bond, teasing the tense atmosphere surrounding them at St. Vladimir's Academy.

The Vampire Academy Release Date

The series will premiere on September 15, 2022 on NBC’s streaming platform, Peacock. Season 1 will include 10 one-hour episodes.

The Vampire Academy Cast

The series boasts a large cast, with quite a few young actors and relative newcomers.

The cast is led by Sisi Stringer as Rose, a half-vampire, half-human called a “Dhampir.” She’s described as fiery, outspoken, and a true fighter. Stringer previously starred in Mortal Kombat as Mileena.

Venezuelan actor Daniela Nieves plays Lissa, known as a “Royal Moroi” vampire. Lissa is the younger sister of the heir apparent to the queen, meaning she is a princess. She’s carefree, kind-hearted, and uninterested in court politics or Moroi upper-crust society. Nieves has starred in Snowfall, Save Me, and Five Points.

Kieron Moore from Sex Education plays instructor Dimitri Belikov, known as a model Dhampir Guardian for being lethal, disciplined, and totally committed to his role as a bodyguard of the Moroi. Fans of the book also know that Dimitri is at the center of one of the novel’s steamiest romances.

Andre Dae Kim from Locke & Key plays Christian Ozera, described as a thoughtful, intelligent Moroi vampire who’s ostracized at school because his parents willingly turned into evil Strigoi. Christian is at the center of the other romance in the book.

Other cast members include J. August Richards as Victor Dashkov, a Moroi who’s dedicated to his husband, kids, and entire community. Anita-Joy Uwajeh plays Tatiana Vogel, a Moroi vampire who’s new in town and makes a play for the crown. Mia Mckenna-Bruce plays Mia Karp, a ruthless St. Vladimir’s student who plans to social climb her way to the top. Rhian Blundell plays Meredith Beckham, a Dhampir who’s a keen observer and strategist. Jonetta Kaiser plays Sonya Karp, a quiet and studious character who’s taken by surprise when a boy named Mikhail shows interest in her. And Andrew Liner plays Mason Ashford, a charming and popular student who’s Rose’s main competition to being the number one Guardian-in-training.

Is Vampire Academy Scary?

Vampire Academy probably won’t be too spooky since it’s a young adult title. It’s likely going to be at the same level of horror as The Vampire Diaries. "Vampire Academy is all about the different species of vampires," Plec told Entertainment Weekly. "There's royal, posh, cloth-napkin vampires, and then the Strigoi, who are closer to what you might expect a rabid feral vampire from the original days would behave like. They're lurking in the shadows, so there's very much a genre tone when it comes to the Strigoi. There's some great horror eye candy in this show as well."