Peacock Axes ‘Dead Day’ From Julie Plec & Kevin Williamson

28.01.2023 - 04:03 / deadline.com

Peacock will not be moving forward with Julie Plec and Kevin Williamson’s comic book adaptation Dead Day despite a straight-to-series order, Deadline has confirmed.

The streamer ordered the series, from Universal Television earlier this year but it is now being shopped elsewhere after it was axed at Peacock, a source tells Deadline.

Dead Day, a TV adaptation of Ryan Parrott’s comic book of the same name, follows 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.

As Deadline reported exclusively in December, the streamer is adjusting its development strategy for the next stage of its evolution, with a stronger emphasis on drama, led by eventized series, a focus on bingeable comedies as well as more true crime limited docu-series, and celebrity-driven shows on the unscripted side. A source close to production revealed the shift in strategy is the reason for the show’s cancellation.

And while the Plec-developed series Vampire Academy was also canceled earlier this month, Peacock is still in business with Plec. She is currently developing the drama series Freeman and already opened a mini writers’ room; as well as an adaptation of the YA novel Running Out of Time titled Clifton, among various other projects under her overall deal with Universal Television.

We hear Peacock also has projects coming down the pipeline with Williamson, following their partnership on the 2022 documentary, Sick.

The news of Dead Day‘s cancellation was first reported by Variety.

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