Posted in: AMC, TV | Tagged: anne rice, interview with the vampire

Interview with the Vampire Season 3 Officially Begins Production

AMC Networks released a teaser image to announce that production on Anne Rice's Interview with the Vampire Season 3 was now underway.

What did you say? You wanted an update on how things were looking regarding the start of production on the third season of AMC and Showrunner Rolin Jones's Jacob Anderson, Sam Reid, Delainey Hayles, Assad Zaman, and Eric Bogosian-starring Anne Rice's Interview with the Vampire? Good news! Earlier today, AMC Networks and the show's social media accounts posted a look at a guitar, amplifier, and clapperboard to announce that production on Season 3 is now underway.

Here's a look at the post from earlier today confirming the start of production on the third season:

Thanks to ATX TV 2025's television festival from earlier this month, we have some additional intel on Season 3 to pass along. Attended by Jones, John Lee Hancock & Mark Lafferty (Anne Rice's Talamasca), executive producer Mark Johnson, and AMC Networks' President of Entertainment and AMC Studios, Dan McDermott, ATX TV's "Vampires, Witches, and Other Secret Societies: Inside AMC's Anne Rice's Immortal Universe" panel offered some interesting insights into what the live-action universe has in store for Interview with the Vampire, Mayfair Witches, The Talamasca: The Secret Order.

Set to focus on The Vampire Lestat (Rice's second book in the series), though expected to pull from a number of works (as Jones has discussed in the past), viewers will catch up with Lestat in the midst of a 50-stop concert tour (expected to be around the 33rd stop). Aside from bringing the music to the masses, Lestat is also looking to offer "a strong reaction" to Louis (Anderson) and Daniel's (Bogosian) book, Interview with the Vampire. In terms of music, Jones shared that he currently has 16 songs from the series composer, Daniel Hart. Jones praised the quality and diversity of the song selection, noting how it matches Lestat's musical evolution.

When asked if Anderson/Louis would have an influence on the third season's music, Jones hesitated before noting that he was being kept on a "leash" but would have more to say in about a month. But he did leave the question answered, dropping this ten-ton hint: "These are great questions that have great answers. If the smile you have when you're talking about Jacob Anderson says anything, your smile will continue."

While a number of the tracks are key to the season's themes and play into the bigger story, Jones made it clear that that are "absolutely fucking killer songs" that will hit with folks, whether they know the series or not. "Daniel Hart was in a band that opened for [David] Bowie. The music is what I'm most confident in," Jones added. Here's a look at a video of the table interview that The TV Dudes took part in which also includes more about what's to come:

Back in August 2024, Hart participated in a Reddit AMA to discuss what it was like composing the first two seasons and answer fan questions. Though Hart noted that it was still too early to discuss specifics on music for the third season, he did offer some insights into "Long Face" and how he's approaching the music for Season 3 with Reid's vocal stylings in mind.

In terms of Hart's musical inspirations for "Long Face," Hart notes it was "Ziggy Stardust"-era David Bowie and T. Rex. As for when the song will hit streaming, Hart shares, "'Long Face' will eventually make it to streaming services, I have no doubt. And I wish I could give you a timetable for that, but I just don't know yet. I know so many folx want to stream it, but I have to ask for your patience while many other moving parts fall into place." As for whether we will be getting any more tracks from Lestat before Season 3 primers, Hart responded, "I probably couldn't tell you if I knew. But I actually don't know, so I don't have much else I can say about it. Except that The Vampire Lestat likes writing songs. :)."

What Hart Likes/Finds Interesting About Sam Reid's Voice: "Sam's voice – what's not to like? Yes, I keep his vocal register in mind when I'm writing for him. Yes, I think about what I know about his voice already, in terms of what words will sound good coming out of his mouth (the slight French accent also affects these choices). BUT his voice, like every voice, is full of surprises, and I can't wait for the next time we record something to discover a new surprise. And no, I don't know when that next time will be, but I really look forward to it."

Hart on Differences in Producing "Come to Me" and "Long Face": "'Come To Me' was done remotely while Sam was filming S1, and I unfortunately couldn't be there, even remotely. 'Long Face,' we were in the studio together. Being together makes it a lot easier to get to the vocal performances we both want. So 'Come To Me,' we really have to thank Sam, Rolin, and my music editor, Mark Vlodarkiewicz, for getting it where it needed to be. For Long Face, we tried a few different approaches – Lestat is furious, Lestat is singing to a fan in the audience at a show, Lestat is seducing everyone – and we had a lot of fun. Sam really gave it his all; it was a pleasure."

In season three, 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," read the official overview for the third season. "Gabrielle. Nicholas. Magnus. Marius. Those Who Must Be Kept. They join Louis, Armand, Molloy, Sam, Raglan, Fareed, and others we can't tell you about yet on a sexy pilgrimage across space, time, and trauma. No Auto-Tuning. No Trigger Warnings. All Feels Amplified. Now, here's a look at the official lyric video for Lestat de Lioncourt's "Long Face":

Speaking with The Los Angeles Times, Jones shared that they're looking to create "a little pop masterpiece" next season – dropping the names of two powerfully influential musicals that are setting the bar. "Lestat becomes a rock star. Let's start there. We're going to do a lot with that and are excited about potentially working with Daniel Hart, who's done the music for the first two seasons," Jones shared. "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."

Mark Johnson Offers "Anne Rice Universe" Updates; Signs New AMC Deal

Johnson sat down with Deadline Hollywood for an exclusive interview that went live near the end of May when news of his new deal first hit.  While the current focus is on the three series currently in play, Johnson shared what the future might hold for Anne Rice fans. In addition, Johnson made some interesting points regarding how they approach possible crossovers and the hesitation to give popular characters their own spinoffs.

Regarding the total number of series he believes "Anne Rice's Immortal Universe" could have in play, Johnson could see that number top out at five. "At some point, it becomes a little ridiculous, but I have a very small but incredibly gifted team, and we can keep tabs, certainly on the three we have now. I know that we could add a fourth and maybe go a little crazy with a fifth," he shared. With that in mind, Johnson teased how things look on that front. "We have a couple of other things in different stages of development, two based on specific books, and the third one, like 'Talamasca,' based on [a] series of events that happen in a couple of the books, on characters who can cross over into original stories," he added.

Johnson on Crossovers & Respecting Anne Rice's Rules: "I know, there is a temptation. When you kill a character, you say, Oh, come on, you can bring him back next season, because it's the supernatural. No, we can't play by those rules. And one of the things you learn early on is that there are rules within Anne Rice's work, and you have to obey them because you deviate at the expense of alienating an audience," Johnson explained.

"But there's so many other things we can do. For instance, The Talamasca is an organization that keeps tabs on — and in theory doesn't interfere with — the supernatural beings in our world. Of course, that would do with witches and with vampires, so you can see how we can connect all three. And we do. There are big surprises already in couple of the seasons, but in the coming season of both 'Interview' and you'll see in 'Talamasca' that there are some connections to these other franchises."

Why Johnson Hasn't Thought About a Lestat or Louis Spinoff: "No, I haven't thought about characters that are broken out. This is not a criticism of 'Walking Dead,' but in a strange way, if a character is available to put into another world or his or her own show, then that means you haven't successfully integrated them into their own franchise. The vampires Lestat and Louie are unique to 'Interview with a Vampire,' and I don't know how you would break them out of that world and that history. I certainly haven't thought about, oh, this character is so successful, let's give her or let's give him their own show."

Mark Johnson executive produces AMC's Anne Rice's Interview with the Vampire, along with Christopher Rice (with the late author also maintaining an executive producer title). AMC's deal includes 18 titles across the "The Vampire Chronicles" and "The Lives of the Mayfair Witches" book series- also including Queen of the Damned, The Vampire Lestat, and The Witching Hour. Johnson leads AMC's efforts to develop the full Rice collection for television & streaming. Emmy Award-winning director Alan Taylor (Mad Men, Game of Thrones) directed the first two episodes and serves as executive producer.

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