Vampire Drag Drama in the Works

The U.K.’s Vertigo Films and Germany’s SquareOne Productions are co-producing the supernatural drag series Vamping.

The drama uses Berlin’s famously hedonistic, nocturnal LGBTQ+ club culture as the backdrop to a story in which a vampire community is fighting to find its place in the world. Vamping is written by London-born writer, director and producer Matthew Jacobs Morgan (The Rig, Pompeii) and German-born multi-disciplinary artist and screenwriter Sophie-Yukiko Hasters.

The story is told through the eyes of young British drag queen Everett, who finds he has been turned into a vampire after celebrating too hard after a triumphant performance at Berlin’s hottest drag club. He is then torn between his former love, life and friends and The Untamed, a vampire community that lives entirely underground and wants to get rid of humans.

Vamping is executive produced by Allan Niblo for Vertigo Films and Al Munteanu for SquareOne Productions. It was created by Jacobs Morgan.

“Vamping is a supernatural drama about Drag Queen Vampires,” Munteanu, founder of SquareOne Productions, said. “This already gives you all you need to know. It is with these words that Matthew Jacobs Morgan piqued our interest years ago. We further developed the script with him and our partners at Vertigo Films and knew immediately that we were on the right track to locate the story to Berlin and pair Matthew with German-American multi-talent Sophie-Yukiko Hasters for this story to finds its unique voice. This is a show that celebrates otherness. When rejoining forces after the Street Dance franchise, Allan Niblo and I, we knew that together we understand brash, bright and in-your-face!”

Allan Niblo, co-founder of Vertigo Films, added, “Vamping is bold, bonkers and brilliant! We’re extremely passionate about exploring many of the topics that young people are grappling with today, whether it’s championing queer representation and visibility or challenging societal expectations and trying to understand the world we live in. Young people want to see themselves represented in a fun, meaningful and exciting way, and Matthew’s vision, alongside Sophie’s experience and background, could not be more perfect in achieving that for Vamping—they will bring an authenticity to the script and characters that is so rare to see on screen.”

“I’m so excited to be writing a show set in one of my favorite cities and through a genre lens which I have always been obsessed with,” Jacobs Morgan said. “We’re blurring the lines between queerness and vampirism in a way which explores otherness, belonging and community whilst also bringing a noisy, queer joy to the forefront with a brilliant army of creatives by my side.”

Hasters added, “I have loved working with Matthew to bring Vamping to life and to find its unique German voice and to explore painting a new portrait of Berlin and its inhabitants—a city and a community that is obviously very close to my heart.”