YA Novel ‘Running Out of Time’ Series Adaptation In The Works At Peacock From Julie Plec As ‘The Vampire Diaries’ Co-Creator Ramps Up Development Slate

Peter White
·4 min read
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Julie Plec is ramping up her development slate and has put a slew of projects into the pipeline including an adaptation of YA novel Running Out of Time at Peacock.

It comes after a number of shows from The Vampire Diaries co-creator were axed earlier this spring including Legacies, Roswell, New Mexico and The Endgame.

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Plec and her production banner My So-Called Company signed a mega-multi-year overall deal with Universal Television in 2020. She said that when she signed that deal she told the studio that she believes in “earning my keep” and added that “this slate reflects that promise”.

The first project set is Clifton, based on Margaret Peterson Haddix’s Running Out of Time. The series, which is in the works at NBCU streamer Peacock, follows 17-year-old Jazzie Smith, who was born and raised in the idyllic, island village of Clifton – a sanctuary for runaway slaves and others who fled the United States at the height of the Civil War. When a mysterious stranger from the mainland washes up on shore, Jazzie learns a truth about the island’s origins that shatters everything she thought she knew to be true.

Briarpatch writer Aisha Porter-Christie, who has also worked on Amazon’s spinoff of The Boys, is adapting. Porter-Christie has recently worked with Plec as a supervising producer on Girls on the Bus. Plec and Emily Cummins will executive produce through My So-Called Company. Kevin Misher will also executive produce through Misher Films, with Misher Films executive Andy Berman serving as a producer.

Elsewhere, Plec has four other projects in various stages: Douglass Medical, Freeman, Stay Gold, and This Savage Song.

Douglass Medical follows Dr. Vanessa Pilgrimm who when she suffers a devastating professional scandal, she’s forced to return home to Washington, D.C. to build a new life as Associate Chief of Emergency Medicine at Douglass University Hospital – a struggling teaching hospital on the campus of a historically Black college. The only problem is the job comes with whispers of nepotism, pressure from her mother who is the Dean of Douglass’ Medical School, and a reckoning with an 18-year-old secret.

The Chi exec producer Ayanna Floyd is the creator/writer.

Freeman is centered around a family that moves to a small, picturesque town in Georgia after acquiring a lucrative inheritance, including the mysterious house known as Freeman Manor. It’s soon discovered that there are mysteries and darkness hidden within the walls and the town at large that go back generations.

Snowpiercer writer Adam Starks, who has worked with Plec on Vampire Academy, is the creator/writer.

Stay Gold is a romantic dramedy about a transgender teenager who begins his senior year of high school struggling to establish a new identity in the face of a new school and environment, while trying to win the love of the girl of his dreams.

It is based on Tobly McSmith’s novel. McSmith will adapt with Arrow co-exec producer Drew Greenberg.

This Savage Song is based on the novel by Victoria Schwab, who will adapt alongside Plec. It is a romantic horror fantasy about two teens in a broken world, where violent acts breed actual monsters. Gina Marcheschi will executive produce along with Plec and Cummins.

These projects join Confessions of a Drug-Addicted High School Teacher, based on an article by Jason Smith that reunites Plec with Paul Wesley, who is attached to star and exec produce.

It comes as Plec has a number of shows heading to air. Dead Day, which Plec is working with her longtime collaborator, has been picked up straight-to-series at Peacock, which has also ordered Vampire Academy. The latter will premiere in September.

Additionally, Joey DeAngelis has been promoted to Director of Development at My So-Called Company, and Marc Parra recently joined as Creative Executive from ABC Signature.

“When I first met with Universal Television to discuss an overall deal, I told them that I believe in earning my keep, and this slate reflects that promise. Between Emily and our team at My So-Called Company and the tremendous group at Universal Television, we’ve been able to build projects that will not just take the audience on an emotional thrill ride, but that also say a little something about the world we live in,” said Plec.

“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,” added Erin Underhill, President, Universal Television. “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.”

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