David Fury

Inside Move: Son of ’Van Helsing’?

Sat May 22, 8:00 PM ET

"Transylvania" may live— but don’t look for it at NBC.

Nine months ago, the Peacock pacted with Universal Network Television for "Transylvania," a drama set in the universe of Universal Pictures’ "Van Helsing" and exec produced by Stephen Sommers. Hopes were high that a pilot would be in this month’s upfront lineup and that the nascent series could benefit from a summer’s worth of movie promos.

It turns out, however, that NBC quietly cooled on "Transylvania" just a few months after the project was announced. Even before the merger with U — or a single dollar was tallied at the B.O. for "Van Helsing" — execs decided the show was simply too expensive.

Script has technically remained "in development." And there was an outside chance that NBC would have raised the dead if "Van Helsing" had opened to boffo B.O. Now, with the Hugh Jackman (news) starrer still hoping to squeak past $100 million in its third weekend, NBC’s sked will likely remain vampire-free.

"The box office has no bearing whatsoever on our plans to move forward or not," says NBCU entertainment prexy Jeff Zucker. "It’s a creative decision based on content and concept. We just want to make sure it has the right network home."

"Transylvania" may still walk among us: Other networks outside the NBC U universe are said to be interested in the show.