Julie Plec Sets Universal Television Overall Deal

By Joe Otterson

LOS ANGELES (Variety.com) – Julie Plec is departing her longtime studio home at Warner Bros. Television for a rich new deal with Universal Television, Variety has learned.

In a competitive situation, Plec has signed a four-year deal with UTV. According to sources, the deal is valued in the mid-eight figure range north of $60 million. Plec will now develop projects for broadcast, cable, and streaming for the studio. That includes those she will create and write herself as well as those which she will supervise under her My So-Called Company banner. She will also expand the scope of her company as part of the deal.

“Six months ago we made a target wishlist of talented creators we really wanted to work with. was at the very top of that list,” president Pearlena Igbokwe said. “With all of the options available to her, Julie chose Universal Television. We are overjoyed and can’t stop smiling! Julie is an expert storyteller who has created characters that have left an indelible mark on the audience. The sky’s the limit for this new collaboration.”

Plec is best known for her work at The CW, where she co-created the hit series “The Vampire Diaries.” She went on to create the spinoffs “The Originals” and “Legacies,” with the latter show recently renewed for a third season at the broadcaster. She also currently executive produces the CW series “Roswell, New Mexico.” Plec has also directed episodes of “The Vampire Diaries” and “Legacies,” as well as “Riverdale.”

Her new series, “The Girls on the Bus,” was picked up straight-to-series at Netflix. She co-created the show with New York Times writer Amy Chozick. It is inspired by a chapter of Chozick’s book “Chasing Hillary.”

“I’m thrilled to embark on a new journey with Pearlena and the group of extraordinary women who are ruling the world at Universal Television,” Plec said. “They’ve made it abundantly clear just how much opportunity there is at the studio right now, with the launch of Peacock and their active relationships with the other streamers, not to mention the broadcast opportunities. I love making television that is both thrilling and emotionally powerful, and I look forward to the adventure ahead at my new home. I am also grateful for my current home, WBTV, and look forward to continuing to nourish the shows we happily built together over the last decade.”

Plec is repped by Management 360 and Felker Toczek.

Plec is now the latest high-profile creator to sign a massive new overall deal. Most recently, it was announced that Seth Macfarlane had moved from 20th Century Fox Television for a deal at NBCUniversal Content Studios , the new unit of NBCUniversal under Bonnie Hammer. The deal came in through Universal Content Productions.