“Interview With the Vampire” is dead. Long live “The Vampire Lestat.”
AMC’s Anne Rice adaptation returned for its third season on Sunday, June 7 with a new title, a new vibe, and, most importantly, a new narrator — Lestat de Lioncourt (Sam Reid), who is so appalled by the inaccuracies of Daniel’s (Eric Bogosian) book that he invites the now-undead journalist to film a documentary about him while he hits the road on a multi-city rock tour.
“Lestat isn’t like Louis,” executive producer Hannah Moscovitch tells TVLine of the show’s narrative shift. “He doesn’t not remember big chunks of his own experience, so there is a difference between how their subjectivities work in the show. Lestat’s version of not dealing with his own memories is just to go forward and to not think about any of it. Then he starts to do art, and then all of his memories of his 265 years start to come out of him. Art is undoing him. It’s making him understand and see himself. And all of that happens. That’s like his version of subjectivity, whereas Louis’ was more like, he doesn’t see it, he won’t look at it, or he misremembers it.
Speaking of that art, we join Lestat in the Spring of 2025 in the middle of his “hedonistic pursuit of extremity,” captivating audiences with deeply personal songs inspired by his centuries of emotional torment. His bandmates don’t know that he’s actually a vampire — as Lestat tells us, “most of humanity moved on” from the shock of Daniel’s book release — but that secret, along with countless others, won’t last for long.
Of course, Lestat’s rock star life does come with its share of dangers. When Lestat turns down the Fang Gang’s invitation to join their coven after putting on a concert in Detroit, things get messy, and most of the coven’s members end up being strewn about the hallways of a hotel.
At the end of the premiere, Lestat is reunited with Gabriella (Jennifer Ehle), a mysterious woman he’s desperately been trying to contact. “Mon cher, very kind of you to come,” he tells her. “I got myself into something I can’t get out of.” They come together with a steamy kiss, and it’s all very well and good — that is until Lestat refers to her as “fledgling, lover, mother.” Wait, mother?! Yes, you read that correctly.
And that’s just scratching the surface of the premiere, which leaves us with a number of burning questions. We posed five of our top queries to the show’s cast and creative team, so read on to find out what they have to say. When you’re finished, grade the episode and drop a comment with your thoughts on the premiere overall. Do you prefer “The Vampire Lestat” to “Interview With the Vampire” so far?
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