******BLOODSUCKING SPOILERS!******

I’ve been an of the late Anne Rice‘s Vampire Chronicles books for about three decades now, and I’ve seen the movie adaptations of 1994’s “Interview With The Vampire” (1994) and 2002’s “Queen of the Damned” (a mashup of Rice’s second and third Vampire Chronicles books). I’ve long thought a TV series would be the best means for telling this layered, complex story, as it’d give the material room to breathe. Modern streaming also meant a new version would no longer have to tiptoe around the vampires’ pansexuality. In 2022, AMC reimagined its new “Interview with the Vampire” TV series as a retelling of the story, citing the in-universe ‘book’ as a flawed, biased recollection, and the second season concluded that story in 2024. Largely shot in Louisiana, the two seasons expanded upon ideas and minor characters/subplots from the original 1976 novel, while moving the origin story up a century for ease of production.

Changing vampires Louis de Pointe du Lac (Jacob Anderson) and his de facto daughter Claudia (Bailey Bass/Delainey Hailes) from caucasian to African-American was a smart choice, as it gave their domination by blonde, white French vampire Lestat de Lioncourt (Sam Reid) a disturbing subtext. There was also a strong theme of domestic violence, as well. The first season ended right around the middle of the first book, after Louis and Claudia conspire to kill their maker Lestat. Season 2 saw Claudia and Louis roaming across Eastern Europe during World War 2, before meeting the vampire Armand (Assad Zaman) and the decadent Théâtre des Vampires troupe in Paris, where Claudia is eventually offered up as sacrifice for violating the vampire code. The end of season 2 also sees Armand turning the sexagenarian journalist Daniel Malloy (Eric Bogosian) into his fledgling. Malloy is no longer ‘the boy’ from in the original book.

In 2024, a teaser trailer was dropped for a third season of “Interview…” that would reunite much of the cast for an adaptation of Anne Rice’s second Vampire Chronicles novel, “The Vampire Lestat” (1985). The second book had been previously explored in the troubled movie “Queen of the Damned” (2002); a 100-minute mashup of the second and third books, with little depth or fidelity to either. This third season would focus primarily on Lestat’s origins, his past, and his current status as a rock star, with actor Sam Reid doing all of his own singing as Lestat. It was also hinting a setup at a 4th season which would be a proper adaptation of “Queen of the Damned.”

AMC’s “The Vampire Lestat” debuted in June of this year, and I missed it in original release, prompting me to buy the season digitally via Amazon Prime Video. Sadly, the digital release doesn’t include the live Lestat concert broadcast this past October. This review will focus on the episodes only, with apologies to the musical talents of Sam Reid…

Episode 1: “Detroit”

After an unspecified apocalypse, we see an underground auction of Lestat memorabilia attended by a visibly injured Louis (Jacob Anderson) and Armand (Assad Zaman). The lots include a series of recordings by Lestat (Sam Reid) himself. The story then cuts to the 2025 release of Lestat’s rock album, “The Vampire Lestat,” with a live promotional concert in Detroit. Newly-minted vampire journalist Daniel Molloy (Eric Bogosian) is directing a rockumentary which tries to camouflage the band’s vampiric lead singer as performance art for his book. We then see how Daniel’s 2022 book disrupted Louis and Lestat’s earlier reconciliation, before Lestat began his rock career with garage band neighbors Alex (Seamus Patterson), Larry (Noah Reed), Tough Cookie, aka TC (Sarah Swire) and Salamander (Ryan Kattner). After the Detroit concert, Lestat is ambushed by a vampire coven who aren’t thrilled with him spilling their secrets. The ensuing battle reveals Lestat’s true vampiric nature to his stunned bandmates, and he flees. Lestat later reunites with Gabriella (Jennifer Ehle); his mother and fledgling, whom he embraces in much more than a mother-son kiss…

Note: “Detroit” is a solid start. Sam Reid, who’s pitch-perfect as Lestat, goes one better by doing his own singing, too. His bandmates remain little more than sketches throughout the series, but are ably played by their respective actors/performers. Eric Bogosian’s Daniel Malloy seems to have a double motive; maintaining the facade of the vampire Lestat as fictional (for his own safety within the vampire establishment), while probing deeper into Lestat’s origins. Jennifer Ehle is exactingly cast as the older, elegant Gabriella (‘Gabrielle’ in the book), though I could’ve done without scenes of her sucking face with her son.

Episode 2: “Toledo”

In flashbacks to Lestat’s 18th century origins as a stuttering landlord’s youngest son in Auvergne, France, we meet his dullard dad and cruel brothers. Only his mother Gabriella ever showed young Lestat kindness. A 29-year old Lestat (“the ape,” as he calls himself from those days) volunteers to hunt wolves surrounding the family properties, and is nearly killed, until Gabriella tends to his wounds. Lestat also meets his first true lover, the melancholy violinist Nicholas (Joseph Potter). Later, upon learning his mother is dying, the now-turned vampire Lestat makes her his first fledgling. The two of them destroy the rest of their abusive family, and go on blood-hunts together. Gabriella adopts the name Sofia. In the present-day, Lestat’s bandmates are still reeling from the shock of learning he’s a real vampire, but they elect to stay, save for Alex. After the band’s Toledo show, Lestat gives Louis a copy of “Interview with the Vampire” filled with his own angry notes. Louis then meets with Daniel, who apologizes for the book before leaving him in the hands of Talamasca agents, who ask Louis to deal with Bruce–the vampire who raped Claudia.

Note: Throughout the two seasons of AMC’s “Interview with the Vampire” and now “The Vampire Lestat,” huge liberties are taken with the source novels, while some characters from Rice’s novels are brought to life onscreen for the first time through uncanny casting that pulls these characters straight from the Vampire Chronicles books. The series’ fidelity to Rice’s works is a balancing act.

Episode 3: “Toronto”

Recording an interview, Lestat tells Daniel the story of turning his ailing lover Nicholas into a vampire, which only made him more unbalanced, before he was destroyed by Armand. A shaken Lestat leaves the interview, and Daniel immediately reviews the tape–which shows Lestat motionless and quiet. The ‘interview’ was a mind trick, told via telepathy to Daniel alone. After leaving, Lestat has flashbacks of his mad vampire maker Magnus (Damien Atkins), who danced into a fire shortly after creating fledgling Lestat. Elsewhere, Louis tracks Bruce’s coven and wipes them out, save for Bruce (Damen Duanno)–whom he disables long enough to confront over his treatment Claudia, before killing him too. Feeling melancholy afterward, Louis enters a diner in New York, where he strikes up a conversation with a young waitress named Regina (Delainey Hayles), who’s a doppelgänger for Claudia. Ex-band member Alex attends a support group meeting, where he sees Armand, who’s attending as Arun–his birth name.

Note: Damien Atkins is visually striking as the deathly creepy vampire Magnus, the self-immolating maker of Lestat, who offers no knowledge or insights in the brief time spent with his fledgling. Magnus is another ‘parent’ who abandons Lestat; a recurring theme of the series.

Episode 4: “The Devil’s Road”

A viral video showing Lestat flying during the Toronto performance makes the band a phenomenon. Gabriella/Sofia disappears suddenly, and Lestat is hurt; he later recalls her earlier abandonment of him on a beach. Bandmate Alex returns, having met a “god.” Armand awkwardly and unsuccessfully apologizes to his fledgling Daniel using the 12 Steps Program, which he later uses on Lestat as well. Lestat publicly mocks Armand during one of his performances, forcing him to leave, with Daniel in tow. Later, Armand confesses his latent love for Daniel, and says it’s what prevented him from using telepathy on Daniel during the interview sessions in Dubai. Meanwhile in New York, Louis asks waitress Regina to read “Interview with the Vampire.” She does, and in a twisted counterproposal, she agrees to be wealthy Louis’ faux Claudia for $500,000. After a concert, Lestat is shot by a disturbed man seeking to prove the existence of vampires. The tour is paused, until Gabriella/Sofia convinces Lestat (who’s not really hurt) to go on, because other vampires want to follow him out of the shadows…

Note: Despite plot twists and character development, “The Devil’s Road” feels a bit protracted and meandering, due to pacing. British actress Dalainey Hayles memorably played the teenaged vampire Claudia (bumped up in age from the book’s six-year old) in the second season of “Interview with the Vampire,” after replacing season 1’s Bailey Bass. Hayles is also allowed to use her native accent as transplanted waitress and con artist Regina. Armand confessing his long love for Daniel feels a tad unconvincing, even for a show about vampires. I realize their romance is from the books, but onscreen it falls flat. The shooting of Lestat after the concert (in New York, no less) strongly echoes the assassination of former Beatle and musical genius, John Lennon.

Episode 5: “New York”

Arriving in New York, Lestat and the band record a ‘posthumous’ album under Gabriella/Sofia’s presence (“Yoko Mirren,” as she’s mockingly called by Tough Cookie). Daniel then meets Armand, who confesses his silent influence over Daniel’s life since the original interview with Louis in 1973. A frazzled Louis asks Lestat to help him determine if Regina is Claudia’s reincarnation. Lestat meets Regina, and tells Louis the resemblance is imperfect, and that he should stop seeing her. Lestat then records a haunting, atypical ballad called “Stained Glass Eyes,” stirred by his own memories of Claudia. Attempting to drive his bandmates away, Lestat warns them of a dangerous time he awakened the ancient original vampire, Akasha (Sheila Atim). Nevertheless, they ask Lestat to turn them as well, so they can perform at his level. The sole holdout is Larry, who quits in disgust, but is killed after Armand mind-tricks him into jumping off a subway platform into an oncoming train.

Note: Bandmate Tough Cookie (Sarah Swire) gets the episode’s best line when she refers to meddling Gabriella as “Yoko Mirren.” And high praise for Sheila Atim as Akasha, the ancient, original vampire and future “Queen of the Damned” (in season 4). Atim follows in the formidable footsteps of Aaliyah (1979-2001), who memorably played a slinky, serpentine Akasha in the otherwise mediocre “Queen of the Damned” (2002); a truncated, messy mashup of “The Vampire Lestat” and “Queen of the Damned.” The young singer/actress died during that film’s production, forcing extensive reedits and post-production trickery to meet a February 2002 release date. Atim takes a very different approach with her version, running out of control–like a dangerous machine accidentally activated.

Episode 6: “Montreal”

On a fitting Halloween night in Montreal, Louis and Lestat meet with a curiously tanned Daniel who wants an ending for his rockumentary. During a rehearsal, a guarded Louis meets Lestat’s mother, Gabriella/Sofia. Later, Louis finds a leaked video of Lestat having sex with her (leaked by Armand and Daniel) and confronts Lestat. Lestat breaks down and confesses his incestuous relationship, leaving Louis recoiled in disgust. They talk through it, before agreeing to meet with a witch named Merrick Mayfair (Sarah Afful), who will perform a séance so Louis and Lestat can make peace with Claudia. Mayfair summons Claudia’s spirit through an old costume of hers, but Claudia’s ghost is filled with rage–particularly at Louis, whom she holds most responsible. Still missing Madeleine, the seething spirit tells them to burn her belongings and never say her name. After their painful closure with Claudia, Louis and Lestat sit together on a bench, attempting to give their relationship another try–until they’re unexpectedly beheaded by an unseen Armand and Daniel.

Note: Taking place on Halloween night, “Montreal” is a banger, with Lestat and Louis’ reconciliation, a séance with Claudia, and a cliffhanger I did not anticipate (the surprise beheadings are not in the book). The episode also features spellbinding performances from Sarah Afful as Merrick Mayfair and Delainey Hayles returning as the bitter ghost of Claudia, not Regina. The only thing marring this otherwise excellent episode is the sex tape between Lestat and his mother. While Lestat and his mother certainly had a bizarre relationship in the books, it wasn’t sexual. This particular change needlessly hinders what is otherwise the best episode of “The Vampire Lestat.”

Episode 7: “The Failures”

Daniel stuffs Lestat’s severed dying head into a duffle bag, taking him to a late-night bowling alley. The slowly-dying head of Lestat imagines his family’s dinner table, where he’s being tormented by visions of Magnus, his ex-lover Antoinette (Maura Grace Athari), his mother Gabriella and the rest of his fledglings, including his bandmates. Their mock trial forces Lestat to come to terms with himself. Meanwhile, Armand has Louis’ severed, dying head in a lab where he demands that Louis offer a sincere apology for their relationship’s failure. Twisting the knife, Armand tells Louis he hired Regina to play upon his guilt. Regina is brought in, horrified at the sight of Louis’ severed talking head. Near death, Louis offers his heartfelt apology–per Armand’s request–and is reattached to his body. Agent Raglan James (Justin Kirk) locates Lestat’s head, telling Daniel the Talamasca wants the “Great Conversion” to happen. With their heads reattached, Louis and Lestat are reunited as well. Lestat confronts his mother/fledgling/lover and refuses to perform the concert. The final scene shows a time jump, with Lestat opening his window to see a ruined city in the aftermath of the awakened Akasha’s wrath…

Note: The still-living heads of Lestat and Louis are well-done, though the image of Louis’ noggin placed over a stainless steel dish feels dangerously close to the 1962 B-monster movie “The Brain that Wouldn’t Die” (later a “Mystery Science Theater 3000” classic). Lestat’s head-trial goes on a bit too long for its foregone conclusion of self-acceptance. The final cliffhanger of Lestat surveying the post-apocalypse landscape which follows Akasha’s awakening creates a solid hook for season 4 (an adaptation of 1988’s “Queen of the Damned,” the third book in the Vampire Chronicles.

The End.

Summing It Up

Rolin Jones returns as showrunner for AMC’s “The Vampire Lestat.” Like “Interview…,” the miniseries is framed in the present with a series of flashbacks, as well as glimpses of an apocalyptic future in the first and final episodes. Most of the cast returns, including Sam Reid (“Lestat”), Jacob Anderson (“Louis”), Assad Zaman (“Armand”), Eric Bogosian (“Daniel”) and even season 2’s Delainey Hayles returning as a doppelgänger for dead Claudia. Significant new characters seen include Lestat’s manic lover Nicholas (Joseph Potter), his maker Magnus (Damien Atkins), and his mother/fledgling/lover, Gabriella (Jennifer Ehle); three people who had the greatest hands in shaping Lestat.

My greatest issue with “The Vampire Lestat” is the incest between Lestat and his mother, which is shot like something out of an elegant romance. This was was grotesque for grotesquery’s sake. I doubt even the most progressive audiences are clamoring for more graphic incest in their entertainment. This is one of those times where I wish they kept things ‘by the book,’ when Lestat and his mother were not getting horizontal. Back to the pluses column, “The Vampire Lestat” boasts uncanny casting, with incarnations of Rice’s characters pulled straight from my mind’s eye, such as Gabriella (nee: Gabrielle), who is fittingly Helen Mirren-esque.

While AMC’s “The Vampire Lestat” makes significant departures from the book, most of these changes work well for this 2026 take on Anne Rice’s 1985 novel. Neither this series nor 2002’s “Queen of the Damned” get high praise for fidelity, though the AMC version is closer in overall spirit to Rice’s universe, even when it pushes through its boundaries. Not quite as successful as the first two seasons of “Interview…,” 2026’s “The Vampire Lestat” is the best onscreen adaptation of the novel we’re likely to see for awhile. This flexible adaptation captures the Vampire Chronicles’ heart of darkness and gallows wit, and can be forgiven its occasional blunders.

With the apocalyptic awakening of ancient vampire Akasha (Sheila Atim), I’m looking forward to AMC’s “Queen of the Damned,” tentatively set for 2028.

Where to Watch

“The Vampire Lestat” miniseries is available to stream on AMC+, as are the first two seasons of “Interview with the Vampire,” and it can be purchased/rented digitally on iTunes or Amazon Prime Video–however, the digital purchase doesn’t include the “The Vampire Lestat: One Night Only LIVE” live event which aired this past October. As of this month, “The Vampire Lestat” will also be available on Blu-Ray/DVD via Amazon.com or Barnes & Noble.