The series embraces thequeer elements of Rice's work, which are only insinuated in the1994 film adaptation, and deals with themes such as race and abuse. It is the first series set in theImmortal Universe, ashared universe based on Rice's novels. A series order was made in June 2021, afterAMC 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 covering the events of the novel. The series was renewed for a third season in June 2024 and is slated to return in 2026 with the titleAnne Rice's The Vampire Lestat, coveringthe second book in the novel series. The series received positive reviews, with praise for its writing, costumes, soundtrack, production design, lead performances and their chemistry. It has received nominations at theCritics' Choice Television Awards andGLAAD Media Awards among others.
Interview with the Vampire centers on the life story ofvampireLouis de Pointe du Lac, as told to veteran journalistDaniel Molloy, to whom he previously gave an unpublished interview in 1973. An affluent black man in the 1910sNew Orleans, Louis is romanced and later made a vampire by the charismaticLestat de Lioncourt. But Louis struggles with his humanity, and the introduction of Lestat's newest fledgling, the teenage vampireClaudia, only strains their relationship further. In the present, Daniel begins to doubt the veracity of Louis' story, noting differences from the earlier version.
Jacob Anderson asLouis de Pointe du Lac,[7] a 145-year-old vampire who summons Daniel Molloy to redo their interview of 49 years earlier. In 1910, Louis is a 33-year-oldclosetedCreole man and successfulbrothel owner in New Orleans. He is haunted by guilt and seethes at the racism directed at him.
Sam Reid asLestat de Lioncourt,[8] 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 readThe 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.[9]
Eric Bogosian asDaniel Molloy,[10] 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)[11] andDelainey Hayles (season 2)[12] asClaudia, 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 asArmand,[note 1][13] a 514-year-old vampire who is Louis' current turned former lover. He saves Daniel's life during the first interview. Armand first appears under the disguise of Rashid, Louis's dutiful servant.
Ben Daniels asSantiago (season 2),[14] the leading thespian of the vampiric troupe the Théâtre des Vampires, who is increasingly suspicious of Louis and Claudia.
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, swing actor, and Quang's biological father
Additionally,Steven G. Norfleet guest starred as Paul de Pointe du Lac, Louis's troubled brother, whileDamon Daunno guest starred as Bruce or Killer, a lone vampire Claudia meets during her travels, andLuke 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 asNicolas de Lenfent, Lestat's former friend and lover, andJustin Kirk guest-starred asRaglan James, a member of theTalamasca.
In 2022 Dubai, immortal vampire Louis de Pointe du Lac begins retelling his life story to journalist Daniel Molloy. In 1910, successful New Orleans brothel owner Louis is befriended by the mysterious and handsome Frenchman, Lestat de Lioncourt. Louis, burdened by his troubled younger brother Paul's disapproval and the limitations put upon him as a black man, struggles with his increasing attraction to the flamboyant and rakish Lestat. When Louis and Lestat finally consummate their relationship, Louis is overcome by the intense feelings brought upon by Lestat's "little drink" of his blood and vows never to see Lestat again. Paul jumps off the roof to his death, and a devastated Louis is tortured by his mother's blame and Lestat's persistent advances. He recounts his many sins in a church confessional, but Lestat arrives and slaughters the priests. Lestat offers Louis an escape from the troubles of his mortal life, and with Louis's agreement, Lestat makes him a vampire.
Lestat begins teaching Louis how to hunt for prey and use his new vampiric powers, but though he is eager to feed, Louis is not the remorseless killer his mentor is. Six years later, Louis and Lestat have purchased the Fair Play Saloon and rechristened it as Azalea Hall, but Louis still struggles with his new life. After a long overdue visit home, the temptation to drink the blood of his infant nephew painfully reminds Louis that he is no longer human. Still, he cannot fully embrace the casual cruelty and disregard for human life while Lestat toys with a dying tenor opera singer in front of him.
Louis proposes that he and Lestat only prey on the worst of humankind. Lestat participates in the experiment, but Louis still has qualms that drive him to feed off animals instead. Louis feels threatened when Lestat takes a blues singer, Antoinette, as a lover, so Louis has sex with Jonah, a childhood friend in town on leave. Louis finds that he is unwelcome at his family's home, as his mother Florence sees what he is. Alderman Fenwick targets Azalea Hall as part of a push by white business owners to force Louis and other black owners out of Storyville and take over their properties. This is the last straw for Louis, who murders Fenwick and hangs his mutilated corpse in public. The white citizens retaliate with fire and destruction. A despondent Louis hears the thoughts of a young girl in a burning boarding house and rushes in to save her.
In the present, Daniel reads Claudia's diaries. She is saved from the fire by Louis, but she is horribly burned. Louis convinces Lestat to make her a vampire rather than let her die. Claudia receives a crash course in vampirism and makes her first kill, but she proves to be impulsive, eating more than Louis or Lestat while being less cautious. But she proves to be a good addition to their household, acting as a daughter to the older vampires. As vampires' thoughts cannot be read by the one who made them, Louis and Claudia have a special connection apart from Lestat, although Claudia also expresses a fondness for Lestat when it comes to vampiric activities. Louis's mother dies, and his sister Grace wants to buy their family home from Louis, having grown fearful of him. Louis begrudgingly agrees to have the papers drawn up. After witnessing a couple making love during one hunt, Claudia becomes frustrated to be an adult in the body of a teenager and acts out. She falls in love with a man named Charlie, but in her excitement, she accidentally kills him. Lestat makes her watch Charlie's body burn.
Louis and Lestat learn that Claudia has secretly been on a mass murder spree and has carelessly dumped the bodies in an area just below the river level. A big storm comes in, and a multitude of corpses wash up. The police come to the townhouse for a routine search and nearly discover the human parts Claudia has been collecting in her room. Lamenting that Lestat and Louis have each other to love, Claudia admits she has tried to make other vampires to have someone for herself, but has repeatedly failed. Claudia leaves for parts unknown, and Louis's relationship with Lestat is worse than ever. During her travels, Claudia meets another vampire named Bruce, who does something to her that Louis will not discuss with Daniel in the present. After seven years of researching vampire lore, Claudia returns to take Louis away with her. Louis is tempted, and a furious Lestat attacks, leaving Louis beaten to a pulp.
Lestat has disappeared in shame, and Claudia nurses Louis back to health. A remorseful Lestat eventually makes overtures to reunite with Louis, who ignores the apologies and gifts for six years. But Louis cannot let go of his connection to Lestat, and he and Claudia consider allowing their maker back into a new version of their family where Claudia is an equal. They give Lestat a list of conditions for his return, but ultimately nothing changes. Lestat relates how as a human he was kidnapped by the vampire Magnus, kept in a room full of corpses that looked like him, and eventually made a vampire, after which Magnus immolated himself. Louis tries to broker peace between Lestat and Claudia but to no avail. Claudia decides to leave for Europe, stowing away on a train, but Lestat locates Claudia and threatens her into returning home, insisting that Louis needs both of them. Claudia decides that she and Louis need to kill Lestat to finally be free of him, and Louis agrees. In the present, Daniel dreams of his first encounter as a young man with Louis and remembers that Louis's young familiar Rashid was also there.
The vampires' eccentricity and agelessness have attracted increased attention, so Lestat decides they should leave New Orleans. Claudia manipulates Lestat into throwing an elaborateMardi Gras ball before they leave. In the present, Louis explains to Daniel that there are several ways to "kill" a vampire, including starvation, decapitation, fire, and drinking the blood of the dead. At the ball, the vampires choose a handful of guests to be slaughtered and drained afterward. Claudia tells Louis that she has drugged one of them withlaudanum andarsenic. As Lestat is poised to drink from the tainted man, he reveals that Antoinette, now a vampire, has warned him of their plan, but he suddenly collapses. A triumphant Claudia explains that she knew Antoinette was trailing her, and that she also poisoned Tom Anderson, from whom Lestat has already drunk. Louis slits Lestat's throat, and he and Claudia leave Lestat's corpse in a trunk to be thrown in the city dump. In the present, Daniel accuses Louis of leaving Lestat somewhere full of rats as a means to save him. Louis reveals that Rashid is actually the ancient vampire Armand and the love of his life.
Louis and Claudia travel to Europe at the end ofWorld War II, searching for fellow vampires. Louis is tormented by a ghostly imagining of Lestat in his head, while Claudia remains emotionally distant. InRomania, while searching for evidence ofVlad the Impaler, the pair are taken in by a refugee community who seem as terrified of vampires as they are of the Soviet occupiers. They eventually encounter a grotesque, feral vampire and its maker, the weary and mysterious Daciana. Instead of going with them back to America, Daciana throws herself into fire. After having heard on the radio that it has been liberated from the Nazis, they go toParis, the "mother of New Orleans". In the present, Armand resists engaging with Molloy, who gets back at him by constantly engaging the real Rashid in conversation. Molloy's questions jog Louis's memory. Armand officially becomes a participant in the interview.
During their first five months in Paris, Louis and Claudia are unaware that they have been watched by the local vampire coven Théâtre des Vampires, due to failing to announce their arrival, as is customary for traveling vampires. Whilecruising through a park, Louis is approached by their leader, Armand, who invites him to their performance. Louis and Claudia are then shown to the rest of the coven, including Santiago, whom Claudia admires, and a portrait of the coven's co-founder, Lestat de Lioncourt. Louis, anxious, tries to confirm Lestat's death with his solicitor, Roget, but fails. During a hunt with the coven, Armand admits that he can tell Louis is familiar with Lestat and advises him to be more discreet to avoid the coven's wrath. In the present, Daniel repeatedly interrupts and mocks Louis and Armand's narration. The couple fight back by digging into Daniel's past with his first wife, Alice, whichtriggers aflashback of Armand.
In the present, Daniel meets aTalamasca agent named Raglan James at a restaurant who provides him with more sources on Louis and Armand. Armand then recounts his first meeting with Lestat and the founding of Théâtre des Vampires to Daniel. The flashback in Paris continues with Claudia going throughhazing to join Théâtre des Vampires: working backstage and in the wet room. Meanwhile, Louis keeps rejecting Armand's offer to join the coven despite spending more time together. Haunted by the hallucination of Lestat, Louis accidentally kills a man and leaves him at a park. This leads to Santiago and the coven demanding Armand discipline Louis. During the initiation, Santiago reads The Five Great Laws to Claudia, including prohibiting killing another vampire. She is given her first role for the next fifty years: a baby. Armand decides not to kill Louis; the two bond over their shared history with Lestat and kiss.
Claudia gradually loathes her playMy Baby Loves Windows despite its success. She develops a friendship with a mortal dressmaker, Madeleine, which leads to her punishment and threat from Armand. The Théâtre des Vampires, led by Santiago, confronts Armand about his special treatment of Louis and plots a mutiny. Santiago sneaks into Louis' flat, where he discovers Claudia's old notebooks, containing Lestat's final words. After hearing about Armand's past and difficulties managing the coven, Louis bids farewell to his hallucination of Lestat and resolves to pursue a committed relationship with Armand. In the present, a mistake in their archive sparks a heated disagreement between Louis and Armand. Daniel continues to recover his memories of Armand and discovers images of the three of them from the first interview in the Talamasca's archive.
After Armand departs for a hunt, Daniel and Louis speak privately about what transpired during the first interview in San Francisco in 1973. With the help of the files Raglan James gave to Daniel, the two start to piece together the details of that night. In San Francisco, not long after Armand's intervention, Louis and Armand enter into a heated argument. When Armand brings up his relationships with Claudia and Lestat, Louis finds it too hard to stomach and attempts suicide by going into the sunlight. Armand intervenes and saves his life. Louis writhes in pain for four days before Armand moves him to his coffin and aids his recovery. Armand taunts him by revealing that he has found Lestat telepathically. Lestat tries to reach out to Louis through Armand, but Armand refuses to pass along his message of love. Armand psychologically tortures and attempts to kill Daniel, but Louis stops him. Back in Dubai, both Louis and Daniel realize that Armand had heavily manipulated their memory of what happened that night.
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6
"Like the Light by Which God Made the World Before He Made Light"
In the present, Daniel returns to the same restaurant to meet Raglan James, who informs him that Talamasca cannot protect his life and advises him to fear Louis rather than Armand. The conversation between Armand and Louis is increasingly heating up, and Armand notices Louis has regained memories of what happened in San Francisco. The flashback in Paris continues, with Santiago discreetly circulating Claudia's journals within the coven and organizing a coup. An attack on Madeleine causes Claudia to reveal her vampire nature, leading Madeleine to seek transformation into Claudia's immortal companion. Following Armand's rejection to sire a new vampire, Louis turns Madeleine. Armand informs Louis that he has left the coven after being given a choice. The episode concludes with Armand allowing the coven to ambush Louis, Claudia, and Madeleine and present them as the accused in a dramatictrial-style matinee, with Lestat revealed to be alive and in attendance.
The sham trial continues with Santiago serving as the "ringmaster", riling up the jeering human audience, charging Louis, Claudia, and Madeleine with violations of The Five Great Laws, and reading out Claudia's diary, with Lestat testifying as the victim and Armand being forced to watch from the balcony. Claudia and Louis try to speak in their defense, but the coven cripples their feet and uses their collective power to disorient them. Lestat reveals that Louis demanded him to turn Claudia despite being fully aware of the plight of a child vampire, and he goes off script to apologize for dropping Louis from the sky. Claudia and Madeleine are condemned to death, but Armand uses his powers to commute Louis' sentence to banishment. However, Louis is shoved into a coffin, filled with gravel, and locked in a crypt to die from starvation. Claudia threatens to kill every audience member post-execution, before she and Madeleine are executed by a shaft of sunlight.
Freed from the coffin by Armand, Louis sets the Theatre aflame, kills the vampires of the coven, with Sam the only one to escape, and saves Claudia's diaries. He reunites with Armand and they meet Lestat in Magnus's old lair, but Louis only "kills" him symbolically by choosing Armand for the rest of his life. In the present, the interview ends there, but Daniel, having been sent Armand's original script for the trial, reveals that Armand was the director of the trial and that Lestat, not Armand, had saved Louis from receiving a death sentence. Louis fights with Armand but leaves him and Daniel behind in the Penthouse. He travels to New Orleans and meets Lestat; the pair finally reconcile. Some months later, Daniel, turned into a vampire by Armand, has published the interview as a best-selling book; though he openly says it is all true, the rest of the world considers it aPR stunt. Back in Dubai, Louis hears the telepathic rage of vampires around the world demanding his death but calmly dares them to come for him.
A new franchise adaptation of Anne Rice'sThe Vampire Chronicles was initially in development as a film series atUniversal Pictures andImagine Entertainment. The novel series had previously been adapted intoInterview with the Vampire, starringTom Cruise andBrad Pitt, in 1994 and the less commercially successful 2002 sequel,Queen of the Damned. Rice's son,Christopher Rice, had adapted the screenplay, andAlex Kurtzman andRoberto Orci were set as producers.[33] 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."[34]
On April 28, 2017, it was announced thatParamount Television Studios andAnonymous 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 andSteve Golin joining as executive producers.[35] On January 11, 2018,Bryan Fuller became theshowrunner, but quit later that month to not interfere with what the Rices were planning.[36][37] In a competitive situation,Hulu put the project in development on July 17, 2018, withDee Johnson replacing Fuller as showrunner on February 19, 2019.[37][38] It was later announced on December 19, 2019, that Hulu had decided not to move forward with the project, with Rice adding her trilogyLives of the Mayfair Witches, the rights to which were still owned byWarner 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.[39]
On May 13, 2020, it was announced thatAMC 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.[40] 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.[41] On July 19, 2021, it was announced thatAlan Taylor was attached as an executive producer and to direct the first two episodes of the first season.[42] On September 28, 2022, ahead of the series premiere, AMC renewedInterview 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.[43][44]
On June 26, 2024, AMC renewed the series for a third season, adapting the second book inThe Vampire Chronicles.[45][46] The season is set to premiere in 2026.[47] In July 2025, the series was officially retitled toThe Vampire Lestat, to honorthe book the season based on.[48]
With AMC's intention of creating a universe out of Rice's work,[49][50] show creator and writer Rolin Jones stated that the later books inThe 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.[43][50] Among the significant changes is Louis' background, which shifted from a whiteplanter andAfrican slave owner in the late 1700s to amixed-race Creole pimp inStoryville, ared light district in early 20th-centuryNew Orleans.[50][51] 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".[50] The series also embraces the queer relationship that exists in Rice's novels, unlike the1994 film adaptation.[52] On the relationship between the two lead characters, Jones stated that the show is agothic romance and that he wanted to "write a very excitable, aggressive, toxic, beautiful love story".[49] Critics praised the series' writing for avoidingcolor-blind casting and allowing the series to explore themes such as race, sexuality, history, and abuse.[51][53][54]
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.[8][7] Two months later, Bailey Bass joined the cast in a starring role as Claudia,[11] whose age was changed from five-year-old in the novel to fourteen-year-old to avoid Louisiana'schild labor law.[49] Kalyne Coleman subsequently landed a recurring role as Grace, Louis's sister.[15] In 2022, Christian Robinson and Assad Zaman joined the cast as Levi and Rashid, respectively,[16][13] while Eric Bogosian was cast as Daniel Molloy in an undisclosed capacity.[10] In April the same year, Maura Grace Athari completed the cast as Antoinette.[17]
Anderson, Reid, Bogosian, and Zaman reprised their roles in the second season,[55] whileDelainey Hayles replaced Bass as Claudia due to "a variety of unforeseen circumstances".[12] In 2023,Ben Daniels andRoxane Duran joined the cast to play Santiago and Madeleine.[14][56] In February 2024, upon the announcement of the second season's release date,David Costabile joined the cast as a guest star.[18]
The main cast, except Daniels, was set to reprise their roles in the season three.[48] In July 2025,Jennifer Ehle andDamien Atkins joined the show as Gabriella, Lestat's mother, and Magnus. They were also joined byElla Ballentine, Jeanine Serralles, andChristopher Heyerdahl.[57]Sheila Atim was later cast as Akasha, the mother of all vampires and the title character of the third bookThe Queen of the Damned in October, whileNoah Reid,Ryan Kattner, Seamus Patterson and Sarah Swire joined the cast as Lestat's band members.[58]
Gallier House was used as Lestat's townhouse during the first season, as described in the novels.
Principal photography for the first season began in late 2021,[8] running from December to April 2022 inNew Orleans.[59] Production designer Mara LePere-Schloop recreated Storyville district by building about 40 period building facades for the show's Iberville and Liberty Street on abacklot at The Ranch Studios inChalmette from October 2021 to January 2022.[60] The show was also shot at several New Orleans landmarks, includingGallier House, which Anne Rice used as the model for Lestat's townhouse, andBeauregard-Keyes House, for the interior of Fair Play Saloon.[61][62]
The second season officially began filming on April 3, 2023, and was expected to end on August 31, for an "early-to-mid 2024" premiere.[63] Most of the shoot took place atBarrandov Studios inPrague, which stood forParis,[63][64] with location shootings includingOld Town Square,Vyšehrad complex, andEstates Theatre.[65] Additional filmings were also done in Paris and New Orleans.[66][67]Craig Zisk was named as one of the directors.[64] For the choreography, animation, and stage concepts of the show's theatre troupe Théâtre des Vampires, the show worked with real-life British theatre company1927, whose founders Suzanne Andrade and Esme Appleton also starred in the show.[68] On May 3, given the script for the series had already been written, AMC spokesperson confirmed that the ongoingWriters Guild of America (WGA) strike was expected to not disrupt the series' schedule, but rewriting was not allowed.[69][70] Filming was eventually halted in July due to the2023 SAG-AFTRA strike and resumed after "roughly 10-week hiatus" on October 2,[71][72] following AMC Networks' interim agreements with the union and the conclusion of the WGA strike.[73][74]
The third season began filming the week of June 16, 2025, in Toronto, with Craig Zisk back to direct the first episode.[75] At the premiere ofTalamasca: The Secret Order, executive producer Mark Johnson informed that the filming was set to conclude on October 23, 2025.[76]
Rolin Jones asked his formerThe Exorcist collaboratorDaniel Hart to score the series.[77][78] 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.[77][78][79] Hart composed a theme for each of the main characters on the tone of their voices so the music would be a part of theirinternal monologues.[79]Milan Records released the first season soundtrack album on October 22, 2022,[80] which includes the song "Come to Me," performed by Sam Reid as Lestat de Lioncourt.[77][81] The second season soundtrack album was released on May 17, 2024, five days after the season premiere.[82]
The series premiered onAMC on October 2, 2022, with an advance release three days earlier on the network's streaming serviceAMC+,[83][84] in all of its regions except Spain,[85] where it premiered on January 12, 2023.[86][87] The rest of the seven-episode first season was released weekly, with a one-week advance on AMC+.[41][88] In 2023, the series was aired onBBC Two in the United Kingdom,ABC Television in Australia, andSky in Germany,[89][90][91] alongside a digital release on their respective streaming services.[92][93][94] In theMiddle East and North Africa region, the series is available on the streaming serviceOSN+.[95][96] The first season was included in the AMC+ "programming pop-up" onMax in the US from September 1 to October 31, 2023,[97] and was made available on USNetflix for a year starting August 19, 2024.[98]
Both seasons ofInterview with the Vampire have been widely praised. On thereview aggregator websiteRotten Tomatoes, the overall series holds an approval rating of 99%.[101] Meanwhile, onMetacritic, which uses aweighted average, the overall series has a score of 83 out of 100.[102]IndieWire named the series one of the most essential LGBTQ TV shows of the 21st century.[103]
On the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, 98% of 83 critics gave the first season a positive review, with an average rating of 8.15/10. 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."[104] Metacritic assigned it a weighted average score of 80 out of 100 based on 30 critics.[105]
Allison Piccuro ofTV Guide gave the season a score of 8.9 out of 10, writing that it "successfully breathe[d] new life into an old story" by not being overly reliant on the original material, as many adaptations are.[106] Judy Berman ofTime namedInterview "the season's best fantasy franchise reboot", despiteHouse of the Dragon andThe Rings of Power debuting in the same period.[107] According Matthew Gilbert ofThe Boston Globe, the show alter[ed] specifics of the novel's story line in ways that wind up working spectacularly well," which might surprise fans of the book and frustrate purists.[108] Jenna Scherer, writing forThe 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.[51] 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 ofHarlequin paperback camp".[51] Brian Tallerico from The Playlist noted how the show found a balance between "theSouthern Gothic escapism of something likeTrue Blood with the rich cultural commentary ofHannibal".[109] In an article highlighting race change in TV adaptations, Kelly Lawler forUSA Today stated thatInterview is "a story that is very Black and very gay, and it never feels like either of these choices istokenism".[110] Meanwhile, on the change to the framing device through Daniel Molloy, Darrin Franich forEntertainment 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".[111]
However, some critics lamented the loss of subtlety in the writing.[106][112][113][2] Tallerico found Molloy "can feel a bit too much like a writer's highlighter".[109] 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".[111] Meanwhile, Charles Bramesco ofThe 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.[2]
The performances ofJacob Anderson andSam Reid and their chemistry were praised by critics.
The performances of the main cast were all praised by critics,[108][51][114] with Anderson and Reid and their chemistry receiving particular praise.[108][51][115] Scherer noted that Anderson proved he was "more than ready" to lead his own series, stating: "He believably plays all the stages of Louis' life."[51] In the publication's best TV performance of the year list, Saloni Gajjar stated that Anderson "arguably exceeded"Brad Pitt's performance in the1994 film adaptation.[116] Meanwhile, Kayleigh Donaldson ofConsequence felt Reid's performance was "directly taken from the novels, as opposed to thecamp eccentricity ofTom Cruise".[115]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."[117] Anderson and Reid were listed together by several critics,[118][119][120] withTV Guide praising: "Their sizzling chemistry and wholehearted commitment [...] is what makes [sic]Interview with the Vampire work."[119]
Critics also praised the costumes,[114][121] production design,[108][114][115][121] and music of the season.[122][123][124] Benny Bishop ofComic 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 itsdiegetic andincidental music and using it to make a story "just as informed by music as the culture it shows on-screen".[122] Several critics were disappointed about the show's exclusion from theEmmy Awards and included it in theirsnub lists.[125][126][127][128]
For the second season, Rotten Tomatoes reports that 100% of 77 critic reviews are positive and the average rating is 8.85 out of 10. 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."[129] On Metacritic, the season has a weighted average score of 89 out of 100 based on 14 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".[130]
Nina Metz of theChicago Tribune gave the season a perfect score, calling it "probably one of the best TV shows of the decade".[131] Lacy Baugher Milas ofPaste dubbedInterview "the best sort of genre series", describing it as not just a good tale but also a reflection of "genuine truths about the human experience of the world we live in now".[132] Several critics opined the second season is better than the first for its commitment to embrace its melodramatic features,[132][133][134][135][136] which Gavia Baker-Whitelaw ofTV Guide believed is what makes the series "so compelling".[134] She gave the season a score 9 out of 10.[134] Matthew Gilbert ofThe Boston Globe described the show's writing as "elegant and, at times, moving".[137] Carol Midgley ofThe Times gave the season three stars out of five, saying it was "bleaker and less camp" and "things can get repetitive".[138] Samantha Nelson ofIGN considered the show's attempt to connect with other shows in theImmortal Universe to be not too awkward but described it as "Daniel being recruited into theAvengers Initiative".[139]
Critics praised performances by the main cast;[134][135][137][139][140][141] however, some lamented Lestat's reduced appearance after the previous season's finale.[132][134][135][138][142] Kayleigh Donaldson ofTheWrap noted that "the magnetism of Jacob Anderson and those around him" kept the show's quality.[143] Jackson McHenry wrote inVulture's top performances of the year list that Anderson deserves "immense credit for grounding the series".[144] Andy Smith ofTVLine named Anderson as an honorable mention in the publication's performer of the week for the eighth episode,[145] while Sam Reid was mentioned for the seventh.[146]Collider's Carly Lane wrote that Reid was able to "inhabit facets of the character we've never really seen before".[140] Nelson dubbed Hayles's Claudia as a "worthy successor" to Bass's,[139] while David Opie ofEmpire noted that Hayles "brings a newfound maturity to Claudia".[141] Giving the season another perfect score, Kaiya Shunyata ofDread Central wrote that Anderson, Bogosian, and Zaman were "a match made in television heaven" for their performances.[147]Collider,TV Guide andTV Insider namedInterview their best television show of 2024.[148][149][150]
Interview with the Vampire was named the best reviewed horror series of 2022 byRotten Tomatoes,[151][152] as well as one of the best reviewed TV series and new series of the year.[153][154] The series was placed at number 19 onMetacritic's year-end list of most mentioned TV shows by critics as "Best of 2022".[155]
The premiere ofInterview with the Vampire ranked as the number one new series launch ever forAMC+, and along with the return ofThe Walking Dead, drove the platform to its highest two days of viewership and subscriber growth since its October 2020 launch. The opening weekend performance putInterview with the Vampire alongsideThe Walking Dead andBetter Call Saul as one of the top three new or returning series on AMC+.[181] OnAMC, 1.2 million viewers watched the premiere of the series, including 493.000 viewers in the 25–54 demographic based onNielsen's live+3 ratings, making the series the number one new drama on ad-supported cable in 2022.[182]
Viewership and ratings per episode ofInterview with the Vampire
Interview with the Vampire has its own set of related media within the Anne Rice'sImmortal Universe franchise, including an insider podcast and an after-show special.[44][234] A short-formspin-off series,Night Island, is in development, with Jonathan Ceniceroz ofInterview with the Vampire set to write.[235]
In January 2023, Mark Johnson announced that a crossover betweenInterview with the Vampire andMayfair Witches, the second series in the Immortal Universe based on the novel trilogyLives of the Mayfair Witches, was in discussion.[236]
^"IFMCA Award Winners 2022".IFMCA: International Film Music Critics Association. February 23, 2023.Archived from the original on February 24, 2023. RetrievedFebruary 24, 2023.
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