If AMC’s Interview With The Vampire has proved one thing since its 2022 debut, it’s that in the right hands, Anne Rice’s dense gothic horror novels are better suited for a lengthy TV adaptation. Sorry to the fans of Neil Jordan’s 1994 movie adaptation, but creator-showrunner Rolin Jones’ televised saga of Louis de Pointe du Lac (Jacob Anderson) and Lestat de Lioncourt (Sam Reid)—one full of passionate romance, freaky sex, pent-up rage, wild secrets, intense yearning, and a lot of heart—gives Rice’s work a superior contemporary spin. No wonder AMC bet on Interview With The Vampire paid off with an actual Immortal Universe franchise, even if Mayfair Witches and the now-canceled Talamasca: The Secret Order don’t come close to IWTV‘s intense, captivating flair.
Interview With The Vampire‘s first two seasons—told through Louis’ unreliable yet compelling narration to sarcastic journalist Daniel Molloy (Eric Bogosian)—tore through Louis’ torrid affair with Lestat in New Orleans in the 1910s, his adventures with daughter-figure Claudia (Bailey Bass/Delainey Hales) in Paris during World War I, and Louis’ courtship with Armand (Assad Zaman) since then, leading up to his present-day life in Dubai. The way IWTV richly developed Louis’ persona and gave him agency as a queer Black man who grew up in the American South’s Jim Crow era is a testament to the writers’ ability to modernize the source material with depth. (In the book, Louis is a white plantation owner in the 18th century.)
The show now does something similarly liberating for Lestat, rebranding itself as The Vampire Lestat for season three. So far, Interview With The Vampire‘s vibe was lush, melancholic, and sensual, the better to match Louis’ personality. For the Lestat-centric episodes—at least, based on the premiere—the show is veering toward a more flamboyant, rollicking, and dare I say comedic energy. It’s an ambitious makeover that the cast and crew are well-equipped to handle, none more than Reid, who sinks his fangs into Lestat’s superstar avatar with aplomb. My gosh, it’s entertaining as hell to watch Reid rock out in his character’s grunge aesthetic on stage: skintight leather pants, smoky eye makeup, colorful boas, and shaggy hair—on the screen and in real life, too. As a bonus, the original music composed by Daniel Hart and performed by Reid is just as captivating because of how it’s interwoven with the show’s themes.
Lestat’s rock-and-roll attitude isn’t just for fun, either, despite Lestat poking fun at musicians like Taylor Swift, Post Malone, and Jelly Roll in this episode alone. In its premiere, titled “Detroit” after the current stop on his band’s concert tour, The Vampire Lestat digs into why music has become a genuine form of expression for someone like Lestat, who has spent the past few decades alone (and craving Louis’ companionship). Lestat hopes that his sound will help contradict the way Louis portrayed him in Daniel’s book: “a mayonnaise villain with sociopathic tendencies.” Getting to see IWTV‘s events through Lestat’s eyes and learn more about his origins makes season three enticing so far. What is his family history, beyond the crumbs we’ve gotten about his maker, Magnus, and his first lover, Nicholas? Is he really as terrifying as Louis made him out to be? And will the two of them reunite in person again after season two’s finale?
“Detroit,” co-written by Jones and Hannah Moscovitch, is bookended with huge twists that set up the rest of the season. The episode opens with an auction for a seemingly dead (!) Lestat’s prized possessions. The attendees include Louis (who is limping), Armand (who is wearing an eyepatch), and Talamasca’s Raglan James (Justin Kirk), each of whom bids for Lestat’s custom music box, which features, among expensive wine and speakers, the single vinyl pressing of an album called The Failures. It’s Lestat’s account of the events leading up to his self-titled band’s 2025 album, tour, and “the subsequent global catastrophes that followed.” Uh-oh. The lucky soul who wins the record by paying over $7 million—we don’t know who it is yet—presses play, and off we go straight into Lestat’s extremely hilarious, manic, and tragic narration.
A huge chunk of the episode centers on Lestat’s unbridled rockstar life. He’s on the road with his band, performs for an intimate and loud crowd, takes selfies with groupies backstage, and, of course, makes out with a few of them on his bus. Oh, he’s also making a documentary to counter Louis’ memoir. And who better to direct it than the same guy who recorded Louis’ version of events? So, welcome to the tour, Daniel! The human-turned-vampire is as sassy as ever as he prods Lestat to answer personal questions. The one that affects Lestat most isn’t about whether he’s talking to Louis again yet, considering Lestat is constantly texting someone during their chat, begging them to come visit him. No, the question that bothers him most is when Daniel asks, “Did you stutter as a child?”
We do learn that the mystery recipient of the texts is definitely not Louis. Two years ago, after Daniel published his book with Talamasca’s help, Lestat was pissed off at his ex-lover for revealing not just their intimate secrets, but those of the vampiric world, too. The timing couldn’t have been worse because Louis and Lestat were actually reconnecting back then, engaging in friendly banter over video calls (with balloons accidentally popping up on FaceTime and everything). But once he read about Daniel’s book, Lestat furiously rushed to pick up a copy. The scene of Lestat buying, reading, and reacting to the book, highlighting passages and fact-checking them to no one except himself in disgust, wildly disagreeing with its contents, should win Reid an award. The montage encapsulates the actor’s knack for physical comedy. In her 1985 book The Vampire Lestat, Rice describes him as being completely animated as a character—this scene sees Reid capturing that exact side of Lestat.
In his rage over the damn book, Lestat—on Halloween, of all nights—storms across the street, interrupting a garage band’s rehearsal to demonstrate proper guitar-playing technique. The band’s singer, Larry (Schitt’s Creek‘s Noah Reid), asks Lestat to join the band instead. Larry regrets it big time now, because Lestat took over, renamed the band from Satan’s Night Out to The Vampire Lestat, and became their frontman. Since then, their popularity has soared, partly because the songs are catchy (“Long Face” will not get out of my brain!) and partly because fans love Lestat’s laissez-faire attitude. Rather, they love that the band’s lead singer is pretending to be Daniel Molloy’s fictional character; they’re sold on Lestat’s persona being fake, even if it’s not. Not even Lestat’s own bandmates know he’s truly a powerful immortal being.
Despite the fame, Lestat is lonely, depressed, and spiraling. Whatever it takes not to think about the long-lost love of his life, I guess? Except he still has a lot of visions of Louis, like when he’s trying to kill Larry or when he’s hooking up with anyone. Perhaps becoming a rock god is the only option for tortured souls like him.
Only Daniel notices how crushed Lestat is. This is the first time we’re seeing them interact: In seasons one and two, Daniel only engaged with Louis and Armand. He clearly has an interesting bond with them, considering Armand is his maker, and because Daniel helped Louis discover the truth about who saved him from his death in Paris. So it’s fascinating to watch Daniel connect, through plenty of repartee, with the third subject of his book. Reid and Bogosian’s easygoing banter—as witnessed by their characters’ first greeting (Daniel: “The cuntessa,” Lestat: “The useful idiot.”)—has me excited for what both of these actors will do together during the interview portions in the remaining episodes.
As isolated as Lestat is in the present day, he doesn’t care to befriend a local Detroit coven. Two members of The Fang Gang approach him in the bathroom (yes, vampires apparently urinate!), asking him to join them at a party at a boutique hotel later. Does Lestat go? Yes. Does he wreak chaos? Also yes. Once the Armand-supporting coven’s agenda to kill Lestat is clear, our guy loses it and fights back as best he can. It’s just too bad that he’s high off his rocker after drinking the blood of a woman, the soon-to-be-married Baby Jenks (Ella Ballentine), who has consumed all kinds of drugs in what feels like a purposeful way to distract and weaken Lestat. Despite his drug-fueled trip, Lestat puts up a fight, and luckily, Daniel stops by to help clear out the annoying regional vamps. Things go south fast, and a bleeding Lestat ultimately reveals his true nature to everyone in attendance, including his bandmates, before flying off to a random motel room.
It’s here that we finally learn the identity of Lestat’s texting buddy. She stops by to see and help him. And it’s none other than his mom, the Vampire Gabriella (Jennifer Ehle), who strolls in rocking a chic white blonde bob. Except, um, the two of them immediately start making out on his bed. Talk about a cliffhanger, huh? This is an erotic vampire saga we’re talking about; of course, there was going to be incest. But how far will it go? And when did it even start? “Detroit” efficiently reminds us that in his 265 years, Lestat has lived a lot of lives, and we’ve barely scratched the surface of his lengthy existence. Fortunately, that’s about to change.
Stray observations:
- •Season three’s colorful, electric opening credits, set to The Vampire Lestat’s “All Fall Down,” are a perfect gateway into the show.
- •We get a solid performance of The Vampire Lestat performing their single, “Long Face,” to an enraptured audience. It’s glorious.
- •Sam Reid also plays Lestat’s doppelganger, a Czech construction worker named Jarda Klapek. Jarda impersonates Lestat during the day by sitting in Applebee’s (and, presumably, other banal spots) to further sell the idea that he’s just a regular guy pretending to be a bloodthirsty vampire.
- •Lestat signs his contracts with blood, to which his lawyer/band manager, Christine (Jeanine Serralles), immediately responds: “Notaries in Oregon don’t authorize red ink.”
- •Has there been a funnier line reading than when Reid gruffly yells “No, thank you,” to the bookstore employee who asks Lestat whether he wants to become a store member? Not now, lady, he has a memoir to dump on.
- •One of the best parts of The Vampire Lestat changing its setting from the ’80s in the book to 2026 in the show is all the timely references, including Lestat saying, “In the spring of 2025, a good nation was making itself great again.” All I’ll say is: Come on, Lestat, do something about that.
- •Christopher Geary briefly pops up as Sam Barclay, a Talamasca agent who worked undercover at the Theatres des Vampires. Sam and Daniel are working together, but to what end?
- •Welcome to The Vampire Lestat recaps, fellow Beautiful Unwells! I’m a big fan of the show, and I’m also reading the source material for the first time. I’m excited to see where Rice’s work—and these episodes—go next.
Saloni Gajjar is The A.V. Club‘s TV critic
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