Interview with the Vampire is the best series on television you’re not watching. This superbly acted, romantic, sexy, blood-soaked, gothic delight from showrunner Rolin Jones is an adaptation of the first book in Anne Rice’s Vampire Chronicles. It’s been a bit of a slow burn, but the show is rapidly gaining a legion of fans. Recently renewed for series 3 (which will adapt the Anne Rice novel The Vampire Lestat) Interview with the Vampire airs on AMC in the US and BBC in the UK.
If you have missed this stunning delight of a show you can now catch up on series 1 and series 2 courtesy of Acorn Media International who are releasing series 2 on dvd, blu ray and digital (and a series 1 & 2 box set on Blu ray and dvd) on October 7th.
Series 1 of Interview with the Vampire saw Louis de Pointe du Lac (Jacob Anderson, Game of Thrones) giving a new interview to Daniel Molloy (Eric Bogosian, Uncut Gems) in modern-day Dubai many years after their first meeting about Louis’s life as a vampire in New Orleans. Louis recounts how he met and fell in love with the ancient French vampire Lestat De Lioncourt (Sam Reid, The Newsreader) and how they raised a daughter, Claudia (Bailey Bass,Avatar: The Way of Water). However, their union ended badly with Claudia and Louis conspiring to kill Lestat to achieve their freedom.
In series 2 of Interview with the Vampire, Louis continues the interview joined by his lifelong companion, the vampire Armand (Assad Zaman). Having killed Lestat and fled New Orleans, Louis and Claudia (now played by Delainey Hayles) find themselves searching for evidence of vampires in post-war Europe. Their journey leads them to Paris, and the Theatres des Vampires where they find the vampire community they so desperately sought, but at a terrible cost.
Series 1 of Interview with the Vampire was superb. Jacob Anderson and Sam Reid wowed everyone with their nuanced acting and instantly definitive takes on these much-loved characters. Series 2 ups the stakes (pun intended) in every way as Louis and Claudia find new love and seek to build themselves a community while being beset by treachery on all sides. Jacob Anderson is a revelation as Louis, while Sam Reid provides sterling support as Lestat, who first appears as a hallucination in Louis’s mind. Assad Zaman as Armand and Delainey Hayles as Claudia are superb casting finds and instantly became fan favourites. Eric Bogosian is the MVP of the entire series, with Daniel holding his own against Louis and Armand and providing wry commentary on Louis’s rose-tinted remembrances before being the architect of Armand’s downfall. Never has the phrase “Just a few follow-up questions” had so much portent.
Interview with the Vampire is an exceptional series, and now is the perfect time to catch up before series 3 is released. The show looks beautiful on the Blu-ray transfer, and the features, while slight, are huge fun.
Special features on the blu rays include:
Season 1:
• 2022 San Diego Comic-Con Panel
Season 2:
- Pre-premiere inside look
- Behind-the-scenes
- “Show me more” episodes
- Episode Insiders
Season 2 of Interview with the Vampire is available to buy on dvd, blu ray and digital on 7 October 2024 with the series 1 & 2 box set being available to buy on the same date.