“When you're the showrunner, you're the person that's in control of most of the details, and to be able to take all that and then to step right behind the camera and to have a direct line of communication with the crew and with the actors - to not be delivering that through another person - is pretty freeing and extremely stimulating.”

American television producer, writer and director

Julie Plec is an American television producer, writer, and director, best known for her work on The CW series The Vampire Diaries, which she co-created with Kevin Williamson. Her career is closely tied to television drama, especially the supernatural series that followed it. She also developed the limited series Containment and helped shape the franchise that grew out of The Vampire Diaries, including The Originals and Legacies. Her work is associated with serialized storytelling for young adult audiences, with a focus on supernatural fiction and the relationships at the center of those shows.