Okay so the Vampire Academy books were something that I absolutely devoured as a teenager. I recognize (as an avid reader as well as a screenwriter) that the actual writing was not great. But I insist that there is a really great story buried in those books. HOWEVER that becomes a very difficult point to argue when they release a Vampire Academy movie that looked exactly like every parody film released in the 2010s. So when I found out they were making a TV show based on the books I was so skeptical and I wanted nothing more than for them to bring to life the story I saw in my head while reading those books. Well I finally got around to watching the show and I don’t know how many more chances this story is going to get, but can someone hire me so I can do this right PLEASE?!
https://vocal.media/geeks/vampire-academy
I’ve always thought this story fits a TV show format more than a feature film one (not every story works in every medium and we need to stop pretending it does). That said, the first season of this show is 10 episodes, theoretically those 10 episodes cover the first book (not how I would have formatted that, but what do I know?).
As far as pilots go I would give it a solid 10/10. It sets up what the story is about, the magic system, the relationships, the internal conflicts each character is facing and will face in the future. I truly think it’s a very well written pilot that does a great job of establishing its genre and purpose. We know immediately that Lissa and Rose have individual callings that attempt to pull their friendship apart but they will very clearly tear the world apart so they can stay together and I love that.