Julie Plec built a Hollywood empire on teen angst, high-stakes love, and unforgettable supernatural sagas—The Vampire Diaries, The Originals, and now We Were Liars on Amazon Prime. But in this candid, funny, and emotional conversation with Jessica Shaw, Julie reveals the deeply personal truth behind her career pivots: how one college class almost stopped her from ever writing again, why she waited decades to direct, and how she learned to stop telling herself “I can’t.”