AMC’s Interview With the Vampire series delivered what Anne Rice fans had long yearned for when it premiered in 2022: an explicitly queer adaptation of literature’s most twisted, eternal love story.
Now, the network — which has invested heavily in Rice adaptations under the umbrella of its so-called Immortal Universe — is attempting to build on the success of Interview With the Vampire’s steamy two seasons with a brand-new series starring Sam Reid and Jacob Anderson. The Vampire Lestat, which premieres in June, features Reid and Anderson reprising their roles as immortal soulmates Lestat and Louis, alongside a handful of familiar faces and exciting newcomers. And it promises to be just as extravagant and sensuous as its predecessor, which featured levitating sex scenes, affecting acts of love and revenge, and a whole lot of velvet and candlelight.
Ahead of AMC airing The Vampire Lestat’s seven, hourlong episodes, here’s what you should know about The Vampire Lestat.
What is ‘The Vampire Lestat’ about?
Sam Reid as 'The Vampire Lestat'
AMC
Like Interview With the Vampire, Anne Rice's The Vampire Lestat is directly inspired by a specific work from Rice’s Vampire Chronicles books. Although, like its predecessor, the new show takes plenty of liberties with Rice’s text, blending plot lines from different books in the series and applying a contemporary lens to some of its themes, including queer sex and class politics.
The synopsis for the debut season, which is based primarily on Rice’s 1985 novel of the same name, reads: “In the new rock and roll centric season, the Vampire Lestat goes on an electric multi-city tour while being haunted by ‘muses’ from his wild and rebellious past. As his band’s popularity and star power rises, so does Lestat’s influence over vampires and humans alike, leaving others to contend with Lestat’s power in the face of the Great Conversion, an unnatural surge in the vampire population.”
Like Rice’s second Vampire Chronicles book, the show picks up after Louis (Anderson) has given his account of his early vampire years, living side by side with and estranged from Lestat (Reid), to the journalist Daniel Molloy (Eric Bogosian). Rather than the 1980s, the setting for the central narrative is 2025, when Lestat, who is less than thrilled with his former companion’s portrayal of events, decides to pen a memoir of sorts and hires Molloy to spearhead a documentary about him. But the documentary isn’t just about the past; it also captures Lestat’s new life as a rock star, wooing audiences with oozing sex appeal and autobiographical ballads about torture and heartbreak, which also attracts the attention of immortals who are less than thrilled with his public displays of vampirism.
Lestat’s narrative, similar to Louis’s in Interview With the Vampire, is the story within the story — told via recordings at a posthumous auction of the golden-haired vampire’s belongings. But very little about what’s going on in the present is revealed until later on in the series, which gives priority to its narrator’s enchanting, if unreliable, account. As in the synopsis, there are allusions early on to the Great Conversion, an event that looms large in all three of AMC’s Vampire Chronicles-inspired seasons.
Are Louis and Armand in 'The Vampire Lestat'?
Jacob Anderson as Louis in 'The Vampire Lestat'
AMC
While Anderson’s Louis initially takes a backseat to Reid’s Lestat in the new show, he’s just as much of a driving force in the narrative as he was in Interview With the Vampire, which ended season 2 with the former lovers making amends in New Orleans in the year 2022. Writer and showrunner Rolin Jones follows Rice’s lead by letting Lestat’s version of the story take precedence this time around — building anticipation over the vampires’ next onscreen meeting and what we can only hope will be more otherworldly lovemaking.
But it’s not just Louis who’s back to charm viewers in Jones’ new addition to AMC’s vampiric universe. Fans of Interview With the Vampire will be happy to hear that Armand, played by Assad Zaman, and his smoldering stares, are also a fixture of the new show.
Last we saw Armand, Molloy was outing him to Louis for lying about several pivotal moments in the vampires’ relationship — a move that didn’t end well for the journalist, who ended season 2 touting his new book with telltale glowing eyes. In the first episode of The Vampire Lestat, the dynamic between the three characters, who are all attending the auction of Lestat’s recordings, is unclear. But one has to assume that a handful of years couldn’t have smoothed things over, given that Armand lost Louis’s love and Molloy lost his mortal life.
Will there be a season 3 of ‘Interview With the Vampire’?
Sam Reid as 'The Vampire Lestat'
AMC
AMC has positioned season 1 of The Vampire Lestat as akin to season 3 of Interview With the Vampire — meaning the preceding series wrapped in 2024.
How long AMC’s Vampire Chronicles adaptation will continue under its new banner is hard to say. Interview With the Vampire borrowed from other texts in Rice’s book series for longevity, so it’s reasonable to think that The Vampire Lestat, which also stars Delainey Hayles as Claudia and series newcomer Jennifer Ehle, will do the same. But given that Queen of the Damned is the third book in Rice’s 13-work series, fans could see another rebrand sooner than they might expect.
Generally speaking, AMC has put a significant amount of money and brain power into adapting Rice’s Vampire Chronicles and Mayfair Witches works since the late author and her son, Christopher Rice, struck a deal with the network in 2020. Not all of the projects, including the single-season Talamasca: The Secret Order, have been as successful as the first two seasons of Interview With the Vampire. But with plenty of crossover opportunities between series and a dedicated, built-in fanbase for the Immortal Universe, it doesn’t seem the initiative will be put to rest anytime soon.
Where and when can I watch 'The Vampire Lestat'?
Episode 1 of The Vampire Lestat will premiere on AMC and AMC+ June 7, with new episodes airing weekly on Sunday. Ahead of the series premiere, you get a look at the show’s handsome leads and an abundance of bloodlust in the trailer above.
Music lovers can also check out a handful of singles from the show sung by Reid, which have been released as part of AMC’s promotional efforts. The singles, which are available on platforms like Spotify and Apple Music, include a cover of Billy Idol’s “Dancing With Myself” and three original songs — “Butterscotch Bitch,” “All Fall Down,” and “Long Face” — from Interview With the Vampire and Mother Mary composer Daniel Hart.
