After nearly a two-year wait, everyone’s favorite vampire drama is finally back on screens June 7. Described at the premiere by new cast member Noah Reid as “one of the strangest, darkest, [and] sexiest” seasons of television to date, this upcoming season of “Interview With the Vampire”, renamed “The Vampire Lestat”, is sure to shock audiences in the best way possible.
What to Know
Although it is predicted to be a funny and tearful ride, showrunner Rolin Jones also joked at the premiere that he’s “really hoping you don’t throw up”, so it’s safe to say the newest addition to AMC’s Immortal Universe – a collection of series adapted from Anne Rice’s “Vampire Chronicles” – is still biting down into its horror roots.
Since “Interview With The Vampire” debuted on AMC+ in 2022, the vampire “telenovela” has garnered critical acclaim for its story of love, shame, and guilt across centuries, earning multiple nominations at the Primetime Emmy Awards and Critics’ Choice Awards. In addition, its fanbase is notably dedicated, with fans of the books and movies transferring over for this new spin on a previously ambiguous queer romance.
The first two seasons followed Louis’ interview, recounting the racism, internal homophobia, and search for identity that shaped his life. Of course, his romantic relationship with Lestat takes up a large space in his narrative, and now, Lestat is coming forward to tell his side. Before we sink our teeth into Lestat’s story this Sunday, let’s take a look at what’s happened so far in the iconic franchise.
Previous Adaptations and Changes
“Interview With the Vampire” has been around for a long time, but its 1976 debut novel is still young compared to the characters within it. The novel follows Louis de Pointe du Lac in the aftermath of his transformation by a centuries-old vampire, Lestat de Lioncourt. Louis faces the horror and guilt that comes with this new life, and eventually takes on a paternal role to the child vampire Claudia. While the novel is often described as sensual and considered a queer story, the characters do not have an explicitly stated romance in this first novel. While subsequent novels confirm their relationship as romantic, the 1994 film follows the first, keeping their relationship ambiguous.
Having openly queer characters in the AMC show is a big part of what made the show resonate so much with the fanbase. It keeps the themes of toxicity, familial love, and identity while portraying their romance as romance, with the clarity being a big improvement from the Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt-led movies.
Season 1 Recap
While it certainly hasn’t been centuries since the last two seasons, “memory is a monster” as the interviewer of vampires himself, Daniel Molloy, reminds us. He reminds Louis that details are mangled and twisted over time. After a two-year pause in the narrative, a refresher is definitely needed before diving into the new season. Here is everything you may have forgotten about in this plot-heavy horror show ahead of its next installment.
The first character we meet is Daniel, an experienced journalist with worsening Parkinson’s disease who is looking for an interesting story to spark his interest. Naturally, when he receives an invitation from Louis de Point du Lac – a vampire he interviewed 50 years ago – he hops on a plane to Dubai without a second thought. Louis is ready for a redo of his interview, and Daniel is ready to listen.
We quickly dive into Louis’ story, starting in the 1900’s. Despite facing racism as a black businessman, he is successful enough to provide a luxurious life for his family by managing brothels around town. While Louis already feels underlying guilt with this profession, it only worsens when he meets Lestat de Lioncourt, a magnetic, obsessive man whom Louis quickly falls for, to his own dismay. His battle with internalized homophobia is a big theme in this early chapter of Louis’ life, and on top of this, his romance with Lestat begins to go askew as their values and morality begin to clash. Louis despises Lestat’s cruel nature towards humans, but quickly learns that his “Twilight”-esque diet isn’t sustainable either, leaving him struggling with his own humanity.
As his romance with Lestat spirals and the racism from his white competitors increases, Louis reaches his breaking point and kills a man who had been tormenting him with racist remarks and actions. However, this quickly backfires, increasing violence towards people of color in the town. Amidst a hate-crime-induced fire, he finds Claudia and convinces Lestat to turn her into a vampire.
Their family of three remains happy for no time at all before Lestat’s anger and jealousy get in the way, and soon Lestat and Louis are estranged after a bloody battle in the sky (did I mention Lestat can fly?) that leaves Louis badly injured for months. When Louis forgives him, Claudia decides enough is enough and convinces Louis to help execute a murder plot against him. While he goes through with the plan, we find out that unbeknownst to Claudia, Louis made sure Lestat wasn’t actually dead, leaving us ready for another season of twisted love, family confrontations, and betrayals.
Season 2 Recap
Continuing the interview into season two, we pick up with Louis and Claudia making their way through Europe, as Claudia desires to find more vampires. This quest seems nearly impossible, with the only vampire they meet throwing themselves in a fire. Just when their determination falters, they find themselves in Paris meeting an entire coven at the Theatre Des Vampires. They are told the rules they must follow, and already have broken the big one – do not kill another vampire – Louis and Claudia decide to keep their tie to Lestat a secret. Not only have they broken the rules already, but Lestat is a worshipped figure in the coven, making the stakes even higher.
Despite the danger, Claudia is ecstatic and quickly joins the coven, while Louis remains a hesitant outsider. While Claudia practices with the theatre company for upcoming shows, Louis begins kindling a new romance with Armand, the coven’s leader. No matter how hard he tries to put Lestat in the past, he has a nagging feeling that Lestat is out there plotting revenge, and constantly imagines Lestat is with him still. Being able to read minds, Armand quickly figures out about Louis and Lestat’s relationship and protects Louis for the time being.
However, the coven starts becoming cruel to Claudia, treating her like a child. Now annoyed with her new family, she befriends a local storeowner named Madeline and eventually Louis turns Madeleine into her immortal companion– another act that is against the rules, as only the coven leader can do this.
The coven is already growing spiteful towards Louis, as Armand favors him and allows him to be an outsider. When the coven finds out about all of Louis and Claudia’s crimes, they plan an on-stage trial to execute them. Tied up and defenseless, they have no choice but to accept their fate, and as it turns out, Lestat is back. This time, not as Louis’ hallucination, but real and ready for revenge. During the trial, Claudia is executed, devastating Louis and making Lestat feel guilty for his part in it. Louis survives, only due to Armand using mind control to change the outcome of his trial, and the story ends with Louis burning the theatre to the ground to avenge Claudia.
Decades later, Armand and Louis are still together and meet a young Daniel for the first time in the 1970’s, inciting a series of dark events. Armand’s jealousy pushes him to torture Daniel, and Louis’ depression and guilt push him to end his own life. However, Armand stops him and nurses his injured body back to health.
Finally, we jump back to 2022 with Daniel finishing up his interview of the ancient figures. Just when you think it’s all over, Daniel questions them further, now providing evidence that Armand is not so innocent. As it turns out, a few vampires survived that fire, and Sam, the playwright, got the script to Daniel, which proved Armand was actually the director and mastermind behind the brutal trial and Claudia’s murder. In fact, Armand didn’t save Louis through mind control either– Lestat did. Outraged, Louis gets into a battle with Armand, ending the relationship and thanking Daniel for his companionship. The season ends with Louis visiting Lestat and clearing the air in a tearful conversation about the past, putting them on good terms again.
It’s Lestat’s World and We’re Just Living in it.
Sam Reid plays Lestat de Lioncourt, and with this upcoming installment shifting to Lestat’s perspective, Reid describes the role as his “dream job”. In conversation with GQ, he says, “You get to do everything that you could possibly ever want to do as an actor in one single show.” It’s a darker turn than the first two seasons, if that’s even possible, and is set to tackle a rollercoaster of emotions. Leaning into the Brat Prince’s emotional polarity, Reid wants this new season to be the kind of show “that you stand up and scream at a TV or get really angry at, have a visceral reaction to.”
Rolin Jones, the show’s creator, praised Reid for his performance to GQ, saying, “you’ll be hard-pressed to see any other actor on television have to do the number of things that he has to do, and do them so artfully. I will never have anybody like him again.”
After the show’s premiere and live concert celebrating the rise of rockstar Lestat, the show already has a 100% Rotten Tomatoes score in its early reviews. The chaos will resume on AMC+ (subscription required) on June 7, so get ready to rock out.
