A Victorian Revenge Tale Where Dracula Poses as a Modern American Entrepreneur in London
In short: In this 2013 reimagining of Bram Stoker’s classic, Dracula arrives in Victorian London under the guise of Alexander Grayson, an American industrialist. While he promises to revolutionize society with modern science, his true mission is a centuries-old vendetta against the Order of the Dragon, the group that destroyed his life.
Created by Cole Haddon and Daniel Knauf, the 2013 television series Dracula offered a distinct departure from traditional adaptations of Bram Stoker’s 1897 novel. Produced by Carnival Films and shot in Budapest, the show received a straight-to-series order of ten episodes, airing on NBC and Sky Living between October 2013 and January 2014. Despite its ambitious premise, the series was cancelled after its single season.
The narrative centers on Dracula, portrayed by Jonathan Rhys Meyers, who is resurrected by Abraham Van Helsing. The two form a fragile alliance against their common enemy, the Order of the Dragon, led by Lord Browning. The plot thickens when Dracula encounters Mina Murray, a medical student who appears to be the reincarnation of his deceased wife, Ilona. This central conflict is further complicated by a cast of characters including the journalist Jonathan Harker, the socialite Lucy Westenra, and the mysterious huntswoman Lady Jayne Wetherby.
Behind the scenes, the project’s history was notably turbulent. Co-creator Cole Haddon later revealed in a 2023 retrospective that the series originated in February 2011 following the success of his script Hyde. After NBC acquired the pilot in September 2011, the production faced significant challenges, including interference from an unidentified producer that nearly prompted Haddon to resign multiple times. Despite these difficulties, Haddon’s candid account of the show's development earned widespread respect from industry peers, including showrunners like Mickey Fisher and Steven S. DeKnight, for its rare transparency regarding the realities of television production.
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