Peacock cancels Julie Plec and Kevin Williamson's Dead Day adaptation

Julie Plec and Kevin Williamson's planned television adaptation of Ryan Parrott and Evgeniy Bornyakov's horror comic book series Dead Day has been canceled by Peacock.

Julie Plec and Kevin Williamson are best known for co-creating superhit shows like The Vampire Diaries and its spin-offs The Originals and Legacies. Last January, NBCUniversal-owned streamer Peacock, gave the project a straight-to-series order but still decided to pull the plug on it.

Universal Television is reportedly planning to ship the comic book show to other outlets, with this being the first time that Plec and Williamson's new series has been shown to other potential buyers.

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Dead Day author Ryan Parrott expresses his views on the news on Twitter

A rather disappointed Ryan Parrott took to Twitter to express his disappointment with the cancelation of the adaptation. Variety was the first to crack the news.

Parrott said:

"Sad to announce that my comic book "Dead Day" won't be coming to Peacock despite being picked up straight to series."

He continued:

"In this industry, you can never count your chickens until they've hatched, been named and apparently had chickens of their own. Rough day."

In recent months, the phenomenon of canceling shows despite their renewal has been seen quite often. The most infamous examples have been coming from Warner Bros.-Discovery, due to CEO David Zaslav's cost-cutting strategies, and the general change in direction for the company's streaming content.

Peacock might be taking a similar approach under the leadership of Chairman Susan Rovner.

This doesn't come as a surprise as the network has just chosen to stick to its most successful lanes as a more practical business approach.

Last year, losses attributed to the streaming service totaled $2.5 billion, and the company now expects losses to total $3 billion for Peacock in 2023. This change is mandatory for the streaming service to ensure a successful future.

Peacock's new strategy involves creating binge-able comedies, as well as more event-series-type dramas, such as The Best Man: The Final Chapters, which became the first Peacock show to enter the Nielsen top 10 streaming charts.

The recently launched Poker Face starring Natasha Lyonne and created by Rian Johnson has already been met with significant critical acclaim.

Peacock canceled the Plec-developed series Vampire Academy earlier this year but is still in touch with her. She is currently developing the drama series Freeman and also an adaptation of the Young Adult novel Running Out of Time titled, Clifton, among various other projects under her overall deal with Universal Television.

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What is the comic Dead Day about?

Dead Day follows a number of characters as they navigate the annual ‘dead day,’ when for one night the dead come back as zombies to complete unfinished business, be that to celebrate a night back on earth or haunt the living.

The official synopsis of the first comic volume reads:

"If the dead could come back for just one night, would we want them to? Meet the Haskins, a seemingly normal suburban family, as they prepare for the annual macabre holiday known as "Dead Day" – when the deceased rise from the grave from sunset to sunrise. Some come back to reunite with family and friends, others for one last night of debauchery, still others with only one thing on their decomposing minds: revenge."

Other works by Ryan Parrott include Go Go Power Rangers, Rogue Sun, Volition etc.