(Spoilers ahead for the series premiere of Vampire Academy on Peacock.)
The series premiere of Peacock's Vampire Academy threw book fans for a loop, and that's exactly what co-creators Julie Plec and Marguerite MacIntyre intended.
As revealed in the episode's dramatic opening sequence—which showed the deaths of several of the Dragomir family in a car crash—the show is set before the events of author Richelle Mead's book series of the same name. And as a fan of the books herself, Plec was excited to flesh out more of the Vampire Academy universe.
"We realized there's a whole season worth of great opportunity right here just in the past," she said in an exclusive interview with E! News. "And so, why not use that as text instead of as memory? Why not begin our story where we can take advantage of some of these great twists and turns?"
For new Vampire Academy fans, the first book (and 2014 film) picks up with best friends Rose Hathaway and Lissa Dragomir—played by Sister Stringer and Daniela Nieves on the Peacock series, respectively—returning to St. Vladimir's Academy after being on the run from vampire society.
While viewers will have to tune in to see what "twists and turns" are in store, MacIntyre assured longtime fans that they will "see everything that you love eventually."
"What we've done is played with time," the former Vampire Diaries star teased. "If you loved something in book six, you might see it in the first season. If you love something in book two, it might be in season five."
Vampire Academy marks the creators' move to streaming after working on The Vampire Diaries—and its spin-offs The Originals and Legacies—for years on the CW, a move Plec called "an extraordinary gift" for this reason.
"For me, the biggest difference is the freedom to keep what you want to keep in the episode," Plec said, "whether it be a beautiful shot, something aesthetic, something tonal, a performance, a small storyline, your favorite line of dialogue in a scene, because you have a flexible running time that in network TV is finite."
She continued, "I have cut so many beautiful things over the last 15 years of my life that made me so sad to lose. Not having to do that here has been the greatest blessing."
Hear Plec and MacIntyre chat more about bringing the books to life in the interview above.
The first four episodes of Vampire Academy are streaming now on Peacock. New episodes premiere weekly on Thursdays.
(E! and Peacock are both part of the NBCUniversal family.)