AMC‘s Interview With the Vampire solely will get higher with age. One in all TV’s most assured exhibits has recognized precisely what story it’s telling because the very first episode, as confirmed partly by narrative seeds laid in Season 1 that wouldn’t come to fruition till the tip of Season 2. Sam Reid joined us on the TV Insider workplace as a part of the present’s FYC press tour to dissect Interview With the Vampire Season 2, in addition to the shock rockstar Lestat teaser debuted at San Diego Comedian-Con 2024 simply weeks after the collection was renewed. Reid says that teaser, which options the primary authentic tune from the upcoming musical season (“Lengthy Face,” written by present composer Daniel Hart), was a chaotic “rehearsal” for Interview With the Vampire Season 3 — and likewise not their first go on the video.
The Interview With the Vampire TV collection relies on Anne Rice‘s 1976 novel of the identical title. Her story of the vampire Louis de Pointe du Lac recounting his immortal life to scrappy journalist Daniel Molloy in 1973 San Francisco popularized the humanized vampire in popular culture, serving because the blueprint for the fashionable vampire tales in media. The collection makes the titular vampire, performed by the marvelous Jacob Anderson, a Black creole man dwelling in 1910s New Orleans as a substitute of a white plantation proprietor within the 18th century, along with different key modifications — reminiscent of getting older up choose characters — to broaden its narrative potentialities.
On this universe, the 1973 interview from the guide has already occurred, however Louis invitations the aged and in poor health Daniel (Eric Bogosian) to his Dubai penthouse for a redo after 5 many years of ruminating have left him desirous to set the document straight. Within the first interview, Louis raked his former lover, Lestat (Sam Reid), throughout the coals. The 2022 interview turns into a extra nuanced portrait. Why precisely Louis is raring to repaint this story is the thriller Daniel tries to resolve, and he finally succeeds by the tip of Season 2.
At its core, the Interview With the Vampire story (be it the guide, the 1994 movie, or the collection) is an exploration of the grief of shedding a toddler by the lens of immortality. Rice’s personal daughter died at age 5 of leukemia; the primary guide was her processing her grief. By way of Claudia, Rice created a toddler who would stay ceaselessly, however even immortality isn’t a assure. What begins as a retelling of a poisonous gothic romance horror story evolves right into a story of affection, betrayal, loss, and self-actualization. Vampirism is painted as a present right here moderately than a curse, however Louis should course of a century of unaddressed grief earlier than he reaches that conclusion himself. When he does, it’s a transcendent finish for the primary two seasons which are two elements of a complete. Season 3, premiering in 2026, will probably be model new territory as Lestat’s flip to inform his life story begins.
The fantastic thing about AMC’s Interview With the Vampire is within the particulars. Have you ever observed that in Season 1 Episode 3, when Daniel first questions Louis’ reminiscence of a steamy tryst that that’s the primary time we see Rashid/Armand (Assad Zaman) in the entire episode? The seemingly informal alternative takes on new that means when the depths of Armand’s involvement within the Paris trial and his thoughts management over Louis are revealed within the Season 2 finale. This episode additionally options the scene the place Lestat makes use of his powers of thoughts management to make the troopers depart his and Louis’ dwelling, the significance of which additionally wasn’t revealed till Season 2’s finish. Season 1 is redefined by this knowledgeable narrative threading, exhibiting that the writers (led by showrunner Rolin Jones and his laser-focused imaginative and prescient for this adaptation) have a grand plan in thoughts — and that they belief the intelligence of their viewers to observe its deliciously dense dialogue on Louis’ “odyssey of recollection.”
Few TV exhibits are so prepared and wanting to current such depth of element for viewers to dissect. A part of the joys is watching Louis do the identical actual factor in his interview. There’s much more enjoyable available when the solid will get to do the dissecting with us.
Sam Reid appears again on a few of Interview With the Vampire Season 2’s largest moments within the video interview above, beginning with the haunting kind his character took on this season. Dream-stat is a figment of Louis’ tormented thoughts and an extension of himself. Louis and Lestat’s poisonous relationship hit a number of breaking factors in Half 1. Claudia (Bailey Bass in Season 1, Delainey Hayles in Season 2) was a band-aid for an unhealthy marriage, one which ended for almost a decade after Louis suffered brutal bodily abuse from Lestat. Issues had been by no means actually the identical after they acquired again collectively. Their collective distress led to Louis and Claudia plotting to kill Lestat, their maker. In Season 2, Louis is haunted not solely by the opportunity of Lestat surviving the homicide try, but in addition by the truth that he so desperately hopes he did. Dream-stat seems out of Louis’ worry and loneliness as Claudia is icing him out throughout their seek for extra vampires in World Struggle II Europe.
(L-R) Delainey Hayles, Eric Bogosian, Assad Zaman, Sam Reid, and Jacob Anderson (Maarten de Boer)
The idea for Dream-stat got here from a passage within the second half of Rice’s novel. “It was as if the empty nights had been made for pondering of him,” Louis says of Lestat within the guide post-murder try. The writers took this and ran, however as Reid admits of the Dream-stat thought, “After I first learn it, I used to be form of pissed.”
Reid “didn’t suppose Lestat ought to be there in any respect actually,” as a result of this a part of the story is particularly targeted on Louis and Claudia’s relationship, in addition to Louis and Armand’s. “I wasn’t actually positive how this was going to work,” Reid says. The concept got here into focus when he understood that Jones’ imaginative and prescient was all about Louis. “We found that it was going to be a method for Louis to have a soliloquy, the best way for Jacob to have the ability to get additional into his inside dialogue so he might analyze himself,” Reid explains.
Anderson and Reid labored collectively to develop the Dream-stat persona. They realized this was their probability to point out “these softer, quieter moments” of Louis and Lestat’s relationship that Louis principally withheld from Daniel, Reid shares. The tender Dream-stat scenes had been items of their relationship that Anderson and Reid knew existed within the subtext of Season 1 in addition to within the completely satisfied moments really depicted. It’s the scene in Season 2 Episode 4, the place Louis imagines Lestat serving to him overview his images, that “is the true key to that Dream-stat character,” Reid notes. “It’s about having anyone you belief and who you’re keen on to have the ability to present you your actual self.”
There’s no “actual” model of Lestat within the Season 2 Episode 3 flashbacks advised by Armand’s standpoint. Lestat’s old flame, Nicki (Joseph Potter), is revealed in these 18th-century scenes. When requested what he and Potter needed to verify was clear concerning the Lestat-Nicki dynamic within the couple of minutes of display time that they had (in addition to the Lestat-Armand bond with Zaman), Reid laughs as if excited that he was lastly being requested this query.
“I don’t essentially suppose that any actual dynamic that’s true was represented in Lestat and Nicki from what we noticed,” The Newsreader star admits. It was extra vital to view this pairing from Armand’s perspective. The way in which Armand tells this backstory to Daniel displays his “agenda,” as Jones beforehand advised TV Insider. “Whether or not or not [Armand’s version of this story] is true” is “up for debate,” Reid says with a realizing smile, however they “didn’t suppose it was priceless to painting the reality coming out from Armand’s standpoint.” Not but, a minimum of. (Potter will probably be again in Season 3.) “Extra importantly, these are characters that have to be put in line by Armand,” says Reid.
The echo of the true Lestat is heard within the telepathic “name” with Armand within the present’s model of the 1973 interview, depicted in Season 2 Episode 5 — a standout episode for devoted followers and newcomers alike. Reid’s few strains might have simply been recorded by voiceover given Lestat’s bodily absence within the episode, however Jones “will get very connected to the true factor,” the actor explains. What you hear was recorded stay simply off-camera on Reid’s first day again at work (due to Bass’ sudden exit and Hayles’ fast casting, this Claudia-free episode was the primary one filmed for Season 2 so Hayles might have extra time to arrange).
“It was priceless for Jacob and for Assad really for me to be there to assist with the circulate of the scene,” Reid says of their ensemble, noting, “I needed to redo it in ADR as soon as I heard it, however Rolin was like, ‘No.’” As shared of their San Diego Comedian-Con 2024 panel, Reid additionally needed to redo his “Did you harm your self?” line from the Louis and Lestat reunion in Season 2’s finale, however Jones desires all emotions amplified. On this world the place vampirism heightens your feelings to the best diploma moderately than stripping you of humanity, exaggerated and lavish performing selections should not solely inspired however anticipated. The actors have full belief in Jones’ imaginative and prescient and that the writing, paired with Daniel Hart’s cinematic and deeply romantic rating, will bleed collectively to justify the large emotional swings.
Within the full video interview above, Reid shares what strikes him a lot about Claudia and Madeleine’s (Roxane Duran) romance, explains Lestat’s out-of-place apology within the devastating trial, and shares the non-public significance of his and Anderson’s secret strains within the finale, in addition to reveals particulars about how the rockstar Lestat teaser got here to life. The odyssey of recollection continues in Interview With the Vampire Season 3, which is able to mark a significant stylistic shift as Lestat, now a world-famous rockstar, prepares to go on tour after Louis and Daniel’s guide took the world by storm. Season 3 begins filming this summer season in Toronto and can premiere in 2026. Within the lengthy nights between now and its return, there’s no higher time to return to Seasons 1 and a pair of and let the story seduce you (once more).
Interview With the Vampire, Season 3 Premiere, 2026, AMC, Seasons 1-2 Accessible Now, AMC+