TAGGED AS: AMC Plus, Anne Rice, TV, vampires
After an explosive and emotional second season, AMC quickly renewed Interview with the Vampire, the most ambitious adaptation of Anne Rice’s famed vampire chronicles featuring career-best performances from Sam Reid and Jacob Anderson, for a third season. Season 2’s drama, jump in popularity, and critical acclaim has set up season 3 brilliantly to eclipse everything we have seen thus far. The only thing that can quell our anticipation is to swoon over all that has led to this point and speculate on what comes next. So, let us do just that and recap season 2, look ahead to what we know about season 3, and share our theories on how they will adapt the source material. Be sure to check back here, as we will update you with all the news on casting, trailers, and storylines as they are released. So here’s everything we know about Anne Rice’s Interview with the Vampire Season 3.
Season 2 of the series followed the vampires Louis de Pointe du Lac (Jacob Anderson) and Claudia (Delainey Hayles) in 1940s post-war Paris. There, they met the vampire Armand (Assad Zaman) and his coven, the Théâtre des Vampires. In their pursuit of the renewed afterlife, the pair find new love and community within the Paris coven. However, all is not well, as the coven brings them to trial for the attempted murder of their maker, Lestat de Lioncourt (Sam Reid), which closed out season 1. In the present day, the interview conducted by Daniel Molloy (Eric Bogosian) with Louis and now Armand heats up, as the events of the night the three first met in 1970s San Francisco explosively comes into focus.
(Photo by Larry Horricks/AMC)
The penultimate episode and ensuing finale premiered to massive critical and audience acclaim, with the events of the season concluding with the death of Claudia, the reunion of Louis and Lestat, and Louis taking on the vampiric world after the release of Daniel’s book. During the epic Louis and Lestat reunion, we saw them commiserate over their shared grief over Claudia; the two hadn’t decided to get back together, but we’re confident that season 3 will find them navigating new relationship waters.
(Photo by AMC)
While the first two seasons of Interview with the Vampire were known for their twists and turns, there are a few storylines that we can expect to continue. Much of season 2 was centered around the complex dynamic between Louis, Armand, and Daniel, and the season concluded with the earth-shattering reveal of Armand’s involvement in the trial that resulted in the death of Claudia in Paris and Daniel getting turned into a vampire by Armand in the present day. The series established that the newly turned vampire, Daniel, has been abandoned by his maker. We expect that season 3 will show the events of Daniel’s turning and where Armand has been.
(Photo by Courtesy of AMC+)
There is no word yet on the date, but fans won’t have to wait long, as AMC announced that the series has been renewed for a third season, and if the past two seasons are a good guide, we will likely see new episodes in early 2025. As the events of the first of Anne Rice’s The Vampire Chronicles book series have concluded with season 2, season 3 will pick up at the beginning of the second book, The Vampire Lestat. AMC has teased the events of the upcoming season, saying, “In season 3, resentful of the perfunctory portrayal in the trashy bestseller ‘Interview With The Vampire,’ the Vampire Lestat sets his story straight in a way only the Vampire Lestat can — by starting a band and going on tour.”
(Photo by AMC)
Our biggest story predictions for season 3 have roots planted in season 2. Episode 3 of season 2 gave a brief glimpse into the origin of how Armand and Lestat met from Armand’s perspective. In that flashback, we briefly looked at the relationship between Lestat and his slain lover, Nicki de Lenfent (Joseph Potter). In the book, Lestat and Nicki bond over their love of art and leave for Paris together. There were mournful mentions of Nicki by Lestat in season 1, so a full explanation of their relationship from Lestat’s perspective will offer an insightful look into who Lestat was before he was turned.
In season 2, Lestat mentions the name Akasha, referencing Queen Akasha from the third Vampire Chronicles book, Queen of the Damned. Audiences might be familiar with her through the critically panned film of the same name, 2002’s Queen of the Damned, starring Stuart Townsend as Lestat and Aaliyah as Akasha. In The Vampire Lestat, Lestat meets Akasha and her husband Enkil (also known as Those Who Must Be Kept), who later drinks her blood, rendering him more powerful than before. While there’s no official news of her character appearing in season 3, the mention of her name has us crossing our fingers for her appearance.
At San Diego Comic-Con 2024, during the Anne Rice’s Interview with the Vampire panel, Mark Johnson, who oversees the Anne Rice Immortal Universe, showrunner and executive producer Rolin Jones, and cast members Sam Reid, Assad Zaman, and Delainey Hayles discussed the series’ second season and teased the third. At the conclusion of the event, they screened a new teaser trailer featuring Lestat prepping for an interview in what we assume to be the “Rockstar Vampire Lestat” portion of the next season. Sexy, put upon, and fierce as ever, this playful teaser sets up a Lestat-filled third season that will give fans of the campy vamp much to chew on.
(Photo by AMC)
Lestat as a rockstar is an unexpected yet exciting turn for the series, and it opens up a world of possibilities. Many fans have speculated on what type of rockstar Lestat would be, with inspiration predictions ranging from David Bowie to Hozier to Mick Jagger to Tim Curry’s Frank-N-Furter from 1975’s The Rocky Horror Picture Show. The latter seems most likely, with showrunner Rolin Jones telling the Los Angeles Times, “We’re going to try to beat Hedwig and the Angry Inch and Rocky Horror. We’re about to try to make a little pop masterpiece.”
(Photo by Alfonso Bresciani/AMC)
Lestat’s story opens up more crossover possibilities with the larger Anne Rice narrative universe. In addition Interview‘s season 3 renewal, AMC has also announced that Anne Rice’s Mayfair Witches has also been renewed for season 2, and a new series following the secret society of supernatural watchers, Anne Rice’s The Talamasca, has been greenlit.
While there hasn’t been an official announcement about combining Interview with the Vampire with Mayfair Witches or The Talamasca, the books leave room to intertwine the shows, and while the vampires already have enough on their plates, a crossover with either series would be an exciting possibility.
Season 1 of Anne Rice’s Interview with the Vampire is available to stream on Netflix, and seasons 1 and 2 are on AMC+ or available on VOD.
