Interview with the Vampire brings out the fangs for Halloween !

After the 1994 movie, Interview with the Vampire is back on the small screen. A new adaptation that has been updated but is just as mesmerizing, the series will put you in the mood for the scariest month of the year…

In 2021, AMC acquired the rights to Anne Rice’s entire literature catalog, promising a brand new life for the beloved book series The Vampire Chronicles and The Mayfair Witch Saga. First published in 1976, Rice’s story had quickly become a major part of literary culture and the most beloved vampire story among readers, after Bram Stoker’s Dracula. It is clear to all that the vampire era is not over. From Twilight to The Vampire Diaries, the beautiful blood drinkers have returned to our television screens, with a fanbase just as enthusiastic as in previous years.

In the original story, a journalist, Daniel, talks with Louis, a centuries-old vampire who recounts his tumultuous relationship with a man named Lestat. With this eight-episode adaptation of Anne Rice’s first Vampire Chronicles novel, “Interview with a Vampire,” AMC gives the mystical universe a fresh start.

A more modern version

Released this Sunday, October 2 on AMC, the first episode of Interview with the Vampire is faithful to the books, but brought up to date. The series takes place in a contemporary world, during Covid-19. It begins with a human journalist Daniel Molloy (Eric Bogosian), as he receives a letter from an old friend. In his huge apartment in Dubai, the hundred-year-old vampire Louis de Pointe du Lac welcomes his human friend for a new interview. Through old tapes, we discover that Daniel and Louis shared the story of a past interview that did not end well – we hear echoes of a violent 1970s interview between the two of them. This chaotic connection between the protagonists gives Daniel the right to be cheeky with the dangerous vampire and gives us, the viewers, deep and personal access to Louis’ story.

In this new version imagined by Rolin Jones, Louis is a wealthy and closeted black man who runs several brothels in Storyville, New Orleans. It is in this city that Louis meets our charming anti-hero, the French vampire Lestat de Lioncourt (Sam Reid). The two men are quickly drawn to each other. As Louis tells their story, Daniel quickly interrupts him to remark, “You talk about him like he’s your soul mate.” The few significant changes to the original 1976 work give the series a spark, bringing Louis De Pointe du Lac’ story into the present, and changing the homoerotic relationship between Louis and Lestat into a steamy and complex homosexual relationship. A relationship that fans will be eager to see evolve.

The best decision made by the showrunner is to have given us Jacob Anderson as Louis, because he is just as charismatic and mesmerizing as his colleague Sam Reid (Lestat). Their talent and their enormous chemistry will force you to stay glued to the screen. Anderson gives us a performance that deserves all the praise. After his supporting roles in Game of Thrones and Broadchurch, he shows us that he is more than capable of playing the lead in an extraordinary television series, with the help of the fantastic Eric Bogosian (Daniel), a legendary actor who has nothing left to prove.

As for our anti-hero, Sam Reid gives us the perfect Lestat de Lioncourt. A charismatic and terrifying vampire who quickly transforms into this awful and abusive immortal being, eager for chaos. The Australian actor is one of the few non-French speakers able to express himself in an understandable and good French, and this fact alone shows that he is the perfect choice for Lestat. 

Filled with blood, wonder, queerness and humor, Interview with the Vampire is a gift for longtime fans of The Vampire Chronicles, as well as for the future fans of the series. Both will love this adaptation and will be swept away into this new world, all the while keeping a warm memory of the books of Anne Rice, who passed away in December 2021.

To everyone’s surprise, the network has already announced that the series will be renewed for a second season.