Interview with the Vampire (TV series)

Anne Rice's Interview with the Vampire, or simply Interview with the Vampire, is an American gothic horror television series developed by Rolin Jones for AMC, based on The Vampire Chronicles by Anne Rice, named after the first book in the series. It stars Jacob Anderson as Louis de Pointe du Lac and Sam Reid as Lestat de Lioncourt and begins with the vampire Louis recounting his past life and tumultuous relationship with the vampire Lestat. The series embraces the queer elements of Rice's work, which are only insinuated in the 1994 film adaptation, and deals with themes such as race and abuse. It is the first series set in the Immortal Universe, a shared universe based on Rice's novels.

Interview with the Vampire received a series order in June 2021, after AMC Networks purchased the rights to intellectual property encompassing 18 of Rice's novels in 2020. The series premiered on October 2, 2022, with the first two seasons cover the eponymous novel. In June 2024, the series was renewed for a third season, set to cover the second book The Vampire Lestat.

The series received positive reviews from critics, with praise going towards the writing, costumes, soundtrack, production design, lead performances and their chemistry.

Premise
Interview with the Vampire centers on the life story of vampire Louis de Pointe du Lac, as told to veteran journalist Daniel Molloy, to whom he previously gave an unpublished interview in 1973. An affluent black man in the 1910s New Orleans, Louis is romanced and later made a vampire by the charismatic Lestat de Lioncourt. But Louis struggles with his humanity, and the introduction of Lestat's newest fledgling, the teenage vampire Claudia, only strains their relationship further. In the present, Daniel begins to doubt the veracity of Louis' story, noting differences from the earlier version.

Main

 * Jacob Anderson as Louis de Pointe du Lac, a 145-year-old vampire who summons Daniel Molloy to redo their interview of 49 years earlier. In 1910, Louis is a 33-year-old closeted Black Creole man and successful brothel owner in New Orleans. He is haunted by guilt and seethes at the racism directed at him.
 * Sam Reid as Lestat de Lioncourt, a hedonistic French vampire who falls in love with Louis upon his arrival in New Orleans. He later turns Louis into a vampire but is irritated by Louis' preoccupation with humans. His background of abuse at the hands of his family and maker makes him fearful of abandonment. Having read The Vampire Chronicles as a kid, Reid revisited the books and constantly referenced them as he prepared for the role. He also took singing and piano lessons to portray Lestat's musicality.
 * Eric Bogosian as Daniel Molloy, a cynical journalist in his 70s with Parkinson's disease and a long history of drug and alcohol abuse whose interview with Louis in 1973 ends with him being attacked.
 * Bailey Bass (season 1) and Delainey Hayles (season 2) as Claudia, a 14-year-old girl whom Lestat turns into a vampire at Louis' insistence to save her life. She forms a daughter-father relationship with the pair and struggles with her fate as an eternal teenager.
 * Assad Zaman as Armand, a 514-year-old vampire who is Louis' current lover. He saves Daniel's life during the first interview. Armand first appears under the disguise of Rashid, Louis' dutiful servant.
 * Ben Daniels as Santiago (season 2), the leading thespian of the vampiric troupe the Théâtre des Vampires, who is increasingly suspicious of Louis and Claudia.

Recurring

 * Kalyne Coleman as Grace de Pointe du Lac Freniere (season 1), Louis's married sister
 * John DiMaggio as Alderman Fenwick (season 1), a businessman looking to take advantage of Louis
 * Chris Stack as Thomas "Tom" Anderson (season 1), the owner of the Fair Play Saloon, an upscale brothel
 * Rae Dawn Chong as Florence de Pointe du Lac (season 1), Louis's widowed mother
 * Jeff Pope as Finn O'Shea (season 1), one of Louis's enforcers
 * Dana Gourrier as Bricktop Williams (season 1), a prostitute who works for Louis
 * Christian Robinson as Levi Freniere (season 1), Grace's new husband and Louis and Paul's brother in law
 * Maura Grace Athari as Antoinette Brown (season 1), a blues singer who becomes romantically involved with Lestat
 * Bally Gill as Rashid (season 2), Louis and Armand's servant
 * Suzanne Andrade as Celeste (season 2), one of Théâtre des Vampires' thespians
 * Esme Appleton as Estelle (season 2), one of Théâtre des Vampires' thespians
 * Jake Cecil as Gustave (season 2), one of Théâtre des Vampires' thespians
 * Roxane Duran as Madeleine Éparvier (season 2), a dressmaker who becomes Louis' fledgling and Claudia's immortal companion
 * Christopher Geary as Samuel "Sam" Barclay (season 2), Théâtre des Vampires' playwright in residence
 * Khetphet "KP" Phagnasay as Quang Pham (season 2), Théâtre des Vampires' projectionist and swing actor
 * Yung Nguyen as Tuan Pham (season 2), Théâtre des Vampires' projectionist and swing actor and Quang's biological father

Additionally, Steven G. Norfleet guest starred as Paul de Pointe du Lac, Louis's troubled brother, while Damon Daunno guest starred as Bruce or Killer, a lone vampire Claudia meets during her travels, and Luke Brandon Field guest starred as Young Daniel Molloy. In season two, Blake Ritson and Stephanie Hayes guest starred as Morgan Ward and Emilia, a couple of refugees Louis and Claudia meet in Romania, while Joseph Potter guest-starred as Nicolas de Lenfent, Lestat's former friend and lover, and Justin Kirk guest-starred as Raglan James, a member of the Talamasca.

Development
A new franchise adaptation of Anne Rice's The Vampire Chronicles was initially in development as a film series at Universal Pictures and Imagine Entertainment. The novel series had previously been adapted into Interview with the Vampire, starring Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt, in 1994 and the less commercially successful 2002 sequel, Queen of the Damned. Rice's son, Christopher Rice, had adapted the screenplay, and Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci were set as producers. The project paused until November 26, 2016, when Anne Rice had regained the rights to the franchise with the intention to develop the novels into a television series, where she and her son would serve as executive producers. Upon this announcement, Rice stated, "A television series of the highest quality is now my dream for Lestat, Louis, Armand, Marius, and the entire tribe. Though we had the pleasure of working with many fine people in connection with this plan, it did not work out. It is, more than ever, abundantly clear that television is where the vampires belong."

On April 28, 2017, it was announced that Paramount Television Studios and Anonymous Content had optioned the rights after a competitive month-long bidding war. Christopher Rice was attached to rewrite the screenplay, with Anonymous Content's David Kanter and Steve Golin joining as executive producers. On January 11, 2018, Bryan Fuller became the showrunner, but quit later that month to not interfere with what the Rices were planning. In a competitive situation, Hulu put the project in development on July 17, 2018, with Dee Johnson replacing Fuller as showrunner on February 19, 2019. It was later announced on December 19, 2019, that Hulu had decided not to move forward with the project, with Rice adding her trilogy Lives of the Mayfair Witches, the rights to which were still owned by Warner Bros. Pictures, to the larger, complete rights package. Paramount Television was in a position to regain the rights to the novels as it was reported the studio was among the four bidders seeking the property.

On May 13, 2020, it was announced that AMC Networks had purchased the rights to the intellectual property encompassing 18 novels and the possibility to develop feature films and television series from the deal. On June 24, 2021, AMC gave an adaptation of the first novel in the series, Interview with the Vampire, a series order consisting of eight episodes, with the series scheduled to premiere in 2022. Rolin Jones was attached as creator, showrunner, and writer. Mark Johnson was named executive producer alongside Jones under their overall deals with AMC Studios to oversee the universe for AMC, with Anne and Christopher Rice set as non-writing executive producers. On July 19, 2021, it was announced that Alan Taylor was attached as an executive producer and to direct the first two episodes of the first season. On September 28, 2022, ahead of the series premiere, AMC renewed Interview with the Vampire for a second season which will cover the second half of the novel, bringing the series to a total of fifteen episodes.

On June 26, 2024, AMC renewed the series for a third season, adapting the second book in the series The Vampire Lestat.

Writing and themes
With AMC's intention of creating a universe out of Rice's work, show creator and writer Rolin Jones stated that the later books in The Vampire Chronicles influenced the decisions made when adapting the story and acknowledged the challenge between being loyal to the source material and keeping the story interesting to those who are familiar with it. Among the significant changes is Louis' background, which shifted from a white planter and African slave owner in the late 1700s to a mixed-race Creole pimp in Storyville, a red light district in early 20th-century New Orleans. Jones said that the changes were made to place the story in a "time period that was as exciting aesthetically as the 18th century was without digging into a plantation story that nobody really wanted to hear now". The series also embraces the queer relationship that exists in Rice's novels, unlike the 1994 film adaptation. On the relationship between the two lead characters, Jones stated that the show is a gothic romance and that he wanted to "write a very excitable, aggressive, toxic, beautiful love story". Critics praised the series' writing for avoiding color-blind casting and allowing the series to explore themes such as race, sexuality, history, and abuse.

Casting
In August 2021, Sam Reid and Jacob Anderson were confirmed to play the lead roles of Lestat de Lioncourt and Louis de Pointe du Lac. Two months later, Bailey Bass joined the cast in a starring role as Claudia, whose age was changed from five-year-old in the novel to fourteen-year-old to avoid Louisiana's child labor law. Kalyne Coleman subsequently landed a recurring role as Grace, Louis's sister. In 2022, Christian Robinson and Assad Zaman joined the cast as Levi and Rashid, respectively, while Eric Bogosian was cast as Daniel Molloy in an undisclosed capacity. In April the same year, Maura Grace Athari completed the cast as Antoinette.

Anderson, Reid, Bogosian, and Zaman reprised their roles in the second season, while Delainey Hayles replaced Bass as Claudia due to "a variety of unforeseen circumstances". In 2023, Ben Daniels and Roxane Duran joined the cast to play Santiago and Madeleine. In February 2024, upon the announcement of the second season's release date, David Costabile joined the cast as a guest star.

Filming


Principal photography for the first season began in late 2021, running from December to April 2022 in New Orleans. Production designer Mara LePere-Schloop recreated Storyville district by building about 40 period building facades for the show's Iberville and Liberty Street on a backlot at The Ranch Studios in Chalmette from October 2021 to January 2022. The show was also shot at several New Orleans landmarks, including Gallier House, which Anne Rice used as the model for Lestat's townhouse, and Beauregard-Keyes House, for the interior of Fair Play Saloon.

The second season officially began filming on April 3, 2023, and was expected to end on August 31, with most of the shoot taking place in Prague, which will stand for Paris, including Barrandov Studios. Filmings in Paris and New Orleans were also done. Craig Zisk was named as one of the directors, while the season was expected to premiere in "early-to-mid 2024". On May 3, given the script for the series had already been written, AMC spokesperson confirmed that the ongoing Writers Guild of America (WGA) strike was expected to not disrupt the series' schedule, but rewriting was not allowed. Filming was eventually halted in July due to the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike and resumed after "roughly 10-week hiatus" on October 2, following AMC Networks' interim agreements with the union and the conclusion of the WGA strike.

Music
Rolin Jones asked his former The Exorcist collaborator Daniel Hart to score the series. Hart and Jones centered the score's style on the period in which the show's protagonists live and discussed early 20th-century American classical musicians as influences. Hart composed a theme for each of the main characters on the tone of their voices so the music would be a part of their internal monologues. Milan Records released the first season soundtrack album on October 22, 2022, which includes the song "Come to Me," performed by Sam Reid as Lestat de Lioncourt. The second season soundtrack album was released on May 17, 2024, five days after the season premiere.

Release
The series premiered on AMC on October 2, 2022, with an advance release three days earlier on the network's streaming service AMC+, in all of its regions except Spain, where it premiered on January 12, 2023. The rest of the seven-episode first season was released weekly, with a one-week advance on AMC+. In 2023, the series was aired on BBC Two in the United Kingdom, ABC Television in Australia, and Sky in Germany,  alongside a digital release on their respective streaming services. In the Middle East and North Africa region, the series is available on the streaming service OSN+. The first season was included in the AMC+ "programming pop-up" on Max in the US from September 1 to October 31, 2023, and will be made available on US Netflix for a year starting August 19, 2024.

RLJE Films released the first season on DVD and Blu-ray in region A on September 26, 2023, which includes French and Spanish dub as well as the series' panel at the 2022 San Diego Comic-Con.

The second season premiered on May 12, 2024.

Critical response
Both seasons of Interview with the Vampire have been widely praised. On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the overall series holds an approval rating of 98%. Meanwhile, on Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, the overall series has a score of 82 out of 100. IndieWire named the series one of the most essential LGBTQ TV shows of the 21st century.

Season 1
The first season received positive reviews from critics. Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reported a 98% approval rating with an average rating of 8.15/10, based on 82 critic reviews. The website's critics consensus reads, "With a playful tone and an expansive sweep that allows Anne Rice's gothic opus to mull like a chalice of blood, Interview with the Vampire puts a stake through concerns that this story couldn't be successfully resurrected." Metacritic assigned a score of 80 out of 100 based on 30 critics.

Giving a score of 8.9 out of 10, Allison Piccuro of TV Guide wrote: "The series successfully breathes new life into an old story, shifting gracefully out of the film's shadow and showing willingness to go there in ways many adaptations are often too beholden to the original text to do." Judy Berman of Time named Interview "the season's best fantasy franchise reboot", despite House of the Dragon and The Rings of Power debuting in the same period. Matthew Gilbert of The Boston Globe explained that "the show alter[ed] specifics of the novel's story line in ways that wind up working spectacularly well, and that will surprise fans of the book, even while they may frustrate purists". Jenna Scherer, writing for The A.V. Club, opined that the changes added "fascinating depths" to Louis and allowed the show to explore themes, such as race, sexuality, and history. Giving the series an "A-", she also attributed its success to the show's "gothic melodrama vibe", adding that it had the appeal of Rice's work, which is "smart, thoughtful writing with a heaping helping of Harlequin paperback camp". Brian Tallerico from The Playlist noted how the show found a balance between "the Southern Gothic escapism of something like True Blood with the rich cultural commentary of Hannibal". In an article highlighting race change in TV adaptations, Kelly Lawler for USA Today stated that Interview is "a story that is very Black and very gay, and it never feels like either of these choices is tokenism". Meanwhile, on the change to the framing device through Daniel Molloy, Darrin Franich for Entertainment Weekly opined that "there's a legacy-sequel quality to [it], a sense that all parties need to re-examine their lore". He gave the show a grade of "B".

However, some critics lamented the loss of subtlety in the writing. Tallerico found Molloy "can feel a bit too much like a writer's highlighter". Franich called the Dubai portion of the show "the least compelling subplot" and stated that "supporting characters who should feel crucial don't make enough of an impression". Meanwhile, Charles Bramesco of The Guardian argued that the show's choice to be explicitly queer felt like it's "catering to a viewership that's been made to wait too long to see the objects of their affections get it on" and gave the series three out of five.

The performances of the main cast were all praised by critics, with Anderson and Reid and their chemistry receiving particular praise. Scherer noted that Anderson proved he was "more and ready" to lead his own series, stating: "He believably plays all the stages of Louis' life, as he moves from dissatisfied human to wide-eyed young vampire to jaded, extravagant immortal." In the publication's best TV performance of the year list, Saloni Gajjar stated that Anderson "arguably exceeded" Brad Pitt's performance in the 1994 film adaptation. Meanwhile, Kayleigh Donaldson of Consequence felt Reid's performance was "directly taken from the novels, as opposed to the camp eccentricity of Tom Cruise". IndieWire included Reid in its best film and TV performance list of the year and stated, "Every minute of Reid's performance here is a master class in manipulation." Anderson and Reid were listed together by several critics, with TV Guide praising: "Their sizzling chemistry and wholehearted commitment [...] is what makes [sic] Interview with the Vampire work."

Critics also praised the costumes, production design,   and music of the season. Benny Bishop of Comic Book Resources wrote an article praising the use of music in the season and stated that the show managed to make "music into a character" by expertly managing its diegetic and incidental music and using it to make a story "just as informed by music as the culture it shows on-screen". Several critics were disappointed about the show's exclusion from the Emmy Awards and included it in their snub lists.

Season 2
The second season received critical acclaim. On Rotten Tomatoes, it reports a 98% approval rating with an average rating of 8.9/10, based on 69 critic reviews. The website's critics consensus reads, "Going from strength to strength with new settings and vivid characterizations, Interview with the Vampire 's sophomore season still has plenty of inspiration coursing through its veins." On Metacritic, the season has a weighted average score of 88 out of 100 based on 12 critics. TVLine's Andy Swift gave Anderson an honorable mention for performer of the week for the eighth episode and wrote: "a devastating performance in his character’s most vulnerable hour [...] Anderson left us speechless, navigating the complex emotional landscape with passion and purpose." He also gave Reid an honorable mention for the seventh episode, calling his performance "captivating, unflinching and unforgettable".

Critics' top ten lists
Interview with the Vampire was named the best reviewed horror series of 2022 by Rotten Tomatoes, as well as one of the best reviewed TV series and new series of the year. The series was placed at number 19 on Metacritic's year-end list of most mentioned TV shows by critics as "Best of 2022".

Ratings
The premiere of Interview with the Vampire ranked as the number one new series launch ever for AMC+, and along with the return of The Walking Dead, drove the platform to its highest two days of viewership and subscriber growth since its October 2020 launch. The opening weekend performance put Interview with the Vampire alongside The Walking Dead and Better Call Saul as one of the top three new or returning series on AMC+. On AMC, 1.2 million viewers watched the premiere of the series, including 493.000 viewers in the 25–54 demographic based on Nielsen's live+3 ratings, making the series the number one new drama on ad-supported cable in 2022.

Franchise and shared universe
Interview with the Vampire has its own set of related media within the Anne Rice's Immortal Universe franchise, including an insider podcast and an after-show special. A short form spin-off series, Night Island, is in development, with Jonathan Ceniceroz of Interview with the Vampire set to write.

In January 2023, Mark Johnson announced that a crossover between Interview with the Vampire and Mayfair Witches, the second series in the Immortal Universe based on the novel trilogy Lives of the Mayfair Witches, was in discussion.