Season 1

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“	Once, long ago, we lived in the human world. The Moroi vampires who make the rules... And the Dhampir Guardians sworn to protect against our enemy... the Strigoi. Undead vampires who live to kill. Now we live in a world of our own, one grounded in elemental magic and seeped in rules no one's challenged in centuries until now. The spark of revolution can come from anywhere, even two unlikely friends... And one night that changed everything.	”
—Lissa & Rose’s Opening Introduction to the audience.

Season 1 of the Vampire Academy (TV Series) premiered with four episodes on September 15, 2022 on Peacock.^[1] The season consisted of 10 episodes ranging in time from 44–51 minutes. It concluded with the episode Ascension on October 27, 2022.

Premise[]

In a world of privilege and glamour, two young women’s friendship transcends their strikingly different classes as they prepare to complete their education and enter vampire society. One as a powerful Royal, the other a half-vampire Guardian trained to protect against the savage ‘Strigoi’ who threaten to tear their society apart. That is, if Royal infighting doesn’t do the job first.^[2]

Cast and Characters[]

Main[]

Sisi Stringer as Rose Hathaway^[3]
Daniela Nieves as Lissa Dragomir^[3]
Kieron Moore as Dimitri Belikov^[3]
André Dae Kim as Christian Ozera^[3]
Anita-Joy Uwajeh as Tatiana Vogel^[3]
Mia McKenna-Bruce as Mia Karp^[3]
Jonetta Kaiser as Sonya Karp^[3]
Andrew Liner as Mason Ashford^[3]
Rhian Blundell as Meredith Beckham^[3]
J. August Richards as Victor Dashkov^[3]

Recurring[]

Pik Sen Lim as Queen Marina^[4]
Jason Diaz as Andre Dragomir^[4]
Max Parker as Mikhail Tanner
Jennifer Kirby as Alberta Casey^[4]
Joseph Ollman as Jesse Zeklos^[4]
Yaël Belicha as Marie Carter
Angela Wynter as High Priestess Irene^[4]
Adam Quintero as Peter Tarus
Blake Patrick Anderson as Edison Castile^[5]
Lorna Brown as Janine Hathaway^[4]
Louisa Connolly-Burnham as Silver^[4]
Cornelius Macarthy as Robert Karp^[4]
Leo Woodall as Adrian Ivashkov^[6]

Guest[]

Other Characters[]

Shown[]

To be added

Mentioned[]

To be added

Episodes[]

#	Title	Writer(s)	Director(s)	Airdate	No. in series
1	Pilot	Marguerite MacIntyre & Julie Plec	Bille Woodruff	September 15, 2022	1
With their lives upended by tragedy, Rose's place is uncertain as Lissa faces a new role in court.
2	Earth. Air. Water. Fire.	Linda Ge	Luis Prieto	September 15, 2022	2
Lissa fears the world will learn her secret; Rose must face the consequences of her actions.
3	Death Watch	Morenike Balogun-Koch	Luis Prieto	September 15, 2022	3
The Dominion suffers a great loss; Rose meets her match; Christian receives shocking news.
4	Benchmark	Jason Coffey	Jesse Warn	September 15, 2022	4
Rose faces a defining test as a Guardian; Victor offers Lissa a chance to improve the Dominion.
5	Near Guard, Far Guard	Adam Starks	Jesse Warn	September 22, 2022	5
Rose proves she's a great leader, but at a terrible cost; Lissa takes matters into her own hands.
6	Molnija	Y. Shireen Razack	Erica Dunton	September 29, 2022	6
On the royal tour, Rose tries to find peace; Lissa seeks answers about her magic.
7	Beyond the Wards	J.J. Braider	Erica Dunton	October 6, 2022	7
Rose and Lissa's quest for answers leads them beyond the borders of the world they've always known.
8	The Trials	Noah Diaz	Julie Plec	October 13, 2022	8
The fight for the throne comes to a head; Victor hides his secret; Rose investigates the enemy.
9	Darkness	Tawal Panyacosit Jr. & Ben O'Hara	Geoffrey Wing Shotz^[7]	October 20, 2022	9
The aftermath of the Trials throws the Dominion into chaos; Christian faces a horrific truth.
10	Ascension	Marguerite MacIntyre	Geoffrey Wing Shotz	October 27, 2022	10
The citizens of the Dominion must come together to face their greatest threat yet.

Trivia[]

On July 21, 2022, when Plec first pitched the show, she called it Bridgerton with vampires." mixed with the Hunger Games.^[8]
- Plec also went onto say that beneath the layers of mythology and danger, Vampire Academy is about best friends Rose (Sisi Stringer) and Lissa (Daniela Nieves) [since] "At its core, it's a story about a friendship that nobody thinks can survive because society isn't built that way — and yet, through thick and thin, they have each other's backs," Plec says.^[8]
- There's also a touch of horror because while "Vampires can be romantic and sexy, but also scary — and viewers should expect both. "Vampire Academy is all about the different species of vampires," says Plec. "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."^[8]
On July 30, 2022, Stringer goes onto explain, “Its a more modern adaptation… Rose is of age. The essence of their[Rose and Dimitri's] relationship is there, but it’s a bit different. It’s not a 17-year-old student and her 24-year-old teacher”. The actors explain the teacher-student dynamic is not there. Instead, Dimitri is not categorized as a teacher but as a mentor to Rose.^[9]
On August 1, 2022 while at San Diego Comic-Con, Stringer, Nieves, Moore, Kim and MacIntyre talked about the buzzwords that best describe their series, how its structured differently from the novels, and what makes it such a perfectly apt take on vampires.^[10]
On August 2, 2022, while at San Diego Comic-Con, Stringer and Nieves discuss one of the series’ biggest changes to the source material involving its opening.Which is starting off with the Queen's party and showing it in full, rather than showing it through flashbacks.^[11]
Plec, Erica Dunton and Geoff Shotz also directed episodes of the series.^[12]
On August 17, 2022, Richelle Mead told a fan in a tweet that after the first five minutes of the series, fans will know exactly who's who. In her case, while watching, there were lots of times where she was like, "OMG that is the most Rose response ever ^[13]
- Also on this day, Jonetta Kaiser shared a sneak peek at the music she uses to get in the headspace of her character.^[14]
On August 20, 2022, Kim revealed that in addition to waiting to hear back about whether or not he was cast as Christian, he was also on hold for the role of Zuko in the netflix live-action adaptation.^[15]
On August 26, 2022, Peacock said in a tweet that all Vampire Academy fans interested should post on social media by 12pm ET on Aug. 30th, tag @peacockTV and use #StVladsFanArt for the chance to have your artwork featured in their virtual premiere.^[16]
On September 1, 2022, IGN revealed that they are hosting a virtual premiere for Vampire Academy titled "Welcome to St. Vlads: Peacock's 'Vampire Academy' - A Virtual Premiere Event" on September 15 at 4 pm PT/7pm ET. In addition, IGN would go onto have exclusive interviews with the entire cast as well as showrunners. Plus, fans would get a behind-the-scenes look at the supernatural drama series hours before it premiered on Peacock.^[17]
On September 8, 2022, it was announced that in order celebrate the upcoming premiere of Vampire Academy the W Network and PenguinTeenCa would be giving away FIVE copies of the Vampire Academy (10th Anniversary Edition) books!^[18]
On September 10, 2022, some character posters for Rose, Lissa, Christian and Dimitri were released by the official account of the VA writers.^[19]
On September 11, 2022, Mead teased that she adores the cast, [because [t]hey've nailed the characters' personalities...^[20]
On September 13, 2022, Mia Mckenna-Bruce who is portraying Mia Karp, showed on Twitter a teaser poster for her character.^[21]
- Also on this day, Jonetta Kaiser, who is portraying Sonya Karp released her character's teaser poster on Twitter.^[22]
On September 14, 2022, Plec released a snippet of a BTS video from the first table read.^[23]
- Also on this day, Plec shared the first shot on the first day of the series.^[24]
On September 15, 2022 Richards mentioned that his new role as Victor Dashkov differs slightly from previous roles as he identifies as a gay, married vampire. Richards describes Victor Dashkov as “cunning, bold, a devoted and loving husband and father". He continued: by saying how Victor is "is passionate, a political activist and usually the smartest and most powerful man in the room. He wears tuxedos and three-quarter-length Persian wool jackets with a top hat and gloves. He rocks a low fade, lives in a 500-year-old palace (which is actually located in Spain) and gets chauffeured in a Tesla.”^[25]
- Also on this day both MacIntyre and Plec mention that there are several caveats when it comes to changes from the books to the tv adaption.^[26]
  - The school remains a training ground for human-vampire hybrids known as “dhampir,” as well as full-blooded vampires of the spell casting variety known as “moroi.” But you won’t find it in the great state of Montana, like in the books, nor would you have to travel all the way to Pennsylvania to visit the vampires’ royal court.^[26]
  - Since they were able to shoot in Spain, MacIntyre states that, “So you get all this visual candy, plus the whole world comes together in one dominion. Nothing is separate anymore. It’s a cool way to tell the story.”^[26]
  - The show’s international scope also extends to its diverse cast. As co-showrunner Julie Plec explains, “No one told us that we needed to have uniform accents or any kind of cultural uniformity. They let us celebrate casting from all over the world, letting these actors be their true, authentic selves, rather than just casting based on what it says the character looks like in the books.”^[26]
  - The relationship between this princess and her guardian-in-training remains the heart of Vampire Academy, but the show won’t necessarily present their story “in the way you think you’re supposed to see it.”^[26]
- Richards was also asked if the role he played 20 years ago as a vampire hunter on Angel helped him in his new role as Victor Dashkov. To which he said that "nothing from Charles Gunn serves me as Victor Dashkov. Victor is a prince, a royal vampire with a lot of social power and status. Gunn was rugged, unpolished. They are so different and would hate each other".^[27]
An official Spotify playlist was also released for the series.^[28]
On September 16, 2022 Jessie Sams and David created the Aazh Naamori language for the series.^[29]
- Also on this day Nieves mentioned how, viewers will get to see Lissa outside of her friendship with Rose, though, just as we get to see her outside of her romantic relationship with Christian as well. Nieves then described her character as “super sweet and super compassionate,” but also “privileged and very out of touch with reality.”^[30]
- Cornelius Macarthy confirmed he'd be recurring on the series as Robert Karp.^[31]
By September 17, 2022, merchandise for the series became available in the Peacock shop.^[32]
- Also on this day Rhian Blundell and Mia McKenna-Bruce teased fans that the fifth episode Near Guard, Far Guard was going to blow people's minds.^[33]
On September 18, 2022 Stringer revealed that she got frostbite on her fingers when filming outside.^[34]
On September 19, 2022, IGN released an exclusive clip of the fifth episode, ahead of its premiere. ^[35]
On September 21, 2022, Kaiser revealed that there was a deleted scene of Sonya and Mikhail’s first kiss, right after the Dhampir Bar dance.^[36]
On September 23, 2022, Plec confirmed that if you're in the UK, fans can try watching the series on SKY and NOW. If you are in Australia, then they should check out Stan, followed by the W Network in Canada.^[37]
On September 27, 2022, it was mentioned the loss of Mikhail has now brought everything closer to home for many of the show's main players in another example of a supernatural drama creating even bigger consequences. This is a departure from the books, as his book counterpart is still alive.^[38]
On September 28, 2022, it was announced that Julie Plec is set to partake in a live fan Q & A moderated by Collider's own Maggie Lovitt on Thursday, October 6th, to discuss the series and answer the fan's burning questions. The panel was further revealed to be held at the Community Lounge in the River Pavilion, which is one of the more intimate locations at the Javits Center.^[39]
On September 30, 2022 Peacock released some additional promotional images for the series 6th episode Molnija.^[40]
On October 6, 2022, while the VA cast wasn't able to attend NYCC, Plec revealed that time zones and Zoom proved to be the biggest challenge. While digital auditions helped them be able to find cast members from around the world, it made it difficult to do chemistry tests for pivotal relationships (like Lissa and Rose and Rose and Dimitri). It also meant some prospective cast members had to sign in for auditions at 5 A.M. in the morning!^[41]
On October 7, 2022, Plec revealed that she adores the Sydney Sage and Adrian Ivashkov relationship just as much as the rest of fans, and she's eager to see that play out on screen. Though she confirmed fans won't see Sydney Sage this season when we asked about a possible Season 1 appearance.^[42]
On October 12, 2022 the VA writers teased fans to be ready for episode 8: The Trials; especially around the 41-minute mark.^[43]
On October 13, 2022, during this 1-on-1 interview with Collider, Moore talked about how Vampire Academy is his first professional acting gig, the way he approached finding this version of Dimitri, what he most enjoys exploring with this character, developing the fighting style, and why Rose is able to crack his exterior. He also dug into the impactful events of episode eight, the moment that he had some difficulty with, where Dimitri’s true feelings lie, and his hope that he’ll get to keep telling this story for awhile.^[44]
On October 19, 2022 Liner mentions how as the show nears the end of its first season run, he says viewers should get ready to "see some things." Without giving too much away, he teases, "I think that you're going to get to see a lot of who Mason is in these final two episodes as the story kind of comes to — I wouldn't say a close, but more so a cliffhanger. We're going to get to see who he is in the most natural in-your-face type of way."^[45]
- Some promotional images were released by Peacock on this day.^[46]
On October 27, 2022, Plec and MacIntyre mentioned that in Ascension, the finale briefly reunited Lissa with Andre, who was barely able to warn her about Tatiana before becoming a victim of the Strigoi; Christian became a monk in order to restore the wards; Sonya attacked Victor after he attempted to apologize for everything he’s done; and Rose helped Lissa escape after being accused of orchestrating Queen Marina’s assassination. Then came the episode’s final, chilling shot: Andre awakening with bloodshot eyes, confirming that Lissa’s brother has turned Strigoi.^[47]
On October 28, 2022, Pop Sugar asked Stringer, if she read the books or the script first? [and] What made [her] want to be involved in the project?. To which Stringer, answered that she read the books first, and joked that she was excited at the prospect of playing Rose and also being employed.^[48]
- Also on this day, Moore joked that Dimitri only wore three outfits in the season, and called his character " a refined man of simplicity". He then mentioned that if he had to pick he'd choose the "boxing robe or dog coll- I mean shock collar."^[49]
- In regards to the writing process, Macintyre mentioned that the Pilot wasn’t written when they started the process of in the writers’ room because the pickup was so quick, that for the pilot and the second and third episodes, her and Plec felt like they were building a plane in flight. They had ideas, and they knew when something was good. They were like, “That’s an idea that works. That arc holds.” They had little feelers forward, and we had an idea. And then, once they got into episode four, they really felt, “Okay, now we know what we’re doing.” From episodes four through 10, everything just got clearer and clearer with every episode...^[50]
- Also on this day, it was mentioned that Lissa is a main player in the story alongside Rose, increasing her involvement in everything going on — even taking things that Rose did primarily by herself in the books, like digging through history to learn more about spirit magic. Unlike her counterpart on the page, Lissa is motivated to step up and figure out what’s going on for herself, showcasing her ability to adapt and her complete sense of determination that actually rivals Rose’s thus far.^[51]
On October 29, 2022, in regard's to Victor's fate, Plec said "That is frankly a decision that we are going to make when we start talking about season two, what I love about Victor is that I haven't seen a sense from the audience that they're as angry with him for his choices as maybe even we as writers were. And because that's a testament to the arc and to J., the actor who made a character who was root-able even as he was progressing into making worse and worse decisions. So, that's a really interesting character. And the question is like, okay, well what road could we travel down with that character if we wanted to? So, we shall see."^[52]

Gallery[]

Promotion Images[]

BTS Images[]

Videos[]

Vampire Academy - Official Teaser - Peacock Original-2

Vampire Academy - Official Trailer - Peacock Original-2

'Vampire Academy' Panel - SDCC 2022 - Entertainment Weekly-2

Vampire Academy - Daniela Nieves ("Lissa") and Andre Dae Kim ("Christian") Interview-2

'Vampire Academy’ Cast On What to Expect - MTV News-2

'I Can Predict Pregnancies'- Vampire Academy Cast Play 'Who's Most Likely To?'-2

A not so meet-cute for Rose and Dimitri l SNEAK PEEK - -shorts-2

VAMPIRE ACADEMY- Sisi Stringer and Daniela Nieves Interview - That Hashtag Show-2

VAMPIRE ACADEMY- Kieron Moore, André Dae Kim & Andrew Liner - That Hashtag Show-2

Daniela Nieves & Sisi Stringer Interview- Vampire Academy-2

Kieron Moore and Andre Dae Kim Interview - FOX 29 Philadelphia-2

FANDOM SDCC Party- Kieron Moore Vampire Interview - That Hashtag Show-2

Vampire Academy- Julie Plec and the Cast Discuss the New Series-2

Vampire Academy - Daniela Nieves & Andre Dae Kim - SDCC 2022 Interview-2

Vampire Academy - Julie Plec & Marguerite Macintyre - SDCC 2022 Interview-2

Vampire Academy Cast Answers Your 🔥 Burning Questions 🔥-2

Everything You Need To Know About Vampire Academy-2

Vampire Academy Cast on Rose's Love Triangle- Team Dimitri or Team Mason?-2

‘Vampire Academy’ Showrunners Talk Perfect Casting of Kieron Moore as Dimitri-2

‘Vampire Academy’ Cast Introduces Their Characters, Reveals Differences from Book to Show-2

VAMPIRE ACADEMY Exclusive Sneak Peek - From Book to Screen Behind the Scenes!-2

Peacock’s Vampire Academy Virtual Premiere-2

Daniela Nieves & Sisi Stringer on Vampire Academy, vampire society, and the sets and locations-2

J. August Richards & Jonetta Kaiser on Vampire Academy, royal blood, and their on-screen family-2

Vampire Academy- Exclusive “Ambush” Clip - IGN’s State of Streaming-2

Vampire Academy Cast Plays Would You Rather - Sisi Stringer, Kieron Moore, Daniela Nieves-2

Vampire Academy with Daniela Nieves-2

"She's my Rose!"- 'Vampire Academy's Kieron Moore, André Dae Kim & Andrew Liner on Sisi Stringer-2

Vampire Academy Cast Spills Stories From Set-2

NYCC 2022- Vampire Academy Press Room Interview with Julie Plec-2

Cast Talks 'Vampire Academy'-2

VAMPIRE ACADEMY Season 1 Post-Mortem- Julie Plec & Marguerite MacIntyre on Rose and Lissa's Big Move-2

The UB Interview- Sisi Stringer Talks 'Vampire Academy' Finale-2