Posted in: AMC, Preview, streaming, Trailer, TV | Tagged: amc, anne rice, interview with the vampire, mayfair witches, Talamasca

The Talamasca: New "Immortal Universe" Series in Development for 2025

AMC Networks gave an official series order for Anne Rice's Talamasca, the third series in Rice's Immortal Universe - set for 2025.

It was back in April 2023 when we learned that AMC & AMC+'s "Immortal Universe" would be expanding beyond Sam Reid, Jacob Anderson, Delainey Hayles, Assad Zaman & Eric Bogosian-starring Anne Rice's Interview with the Vampire and Alexandra Daddario, Tongayi Chirisa, Jack Huston & Harry Hamlin-starring Anne Rice's Mayfair Witches. With John Lee Hancock (The Blind Side) originally set to write and serve as the sole showrunner, the series Anne Rice's Talamasca will focus on the secret organization known as the Talamasca – one that's been a factor in a number of Rice's works. Referred to by the late bestselling author as "psychic detectives," the Order of the Talamasca was established to research, track, and oversee the paranormal world – which, as we've seen, is made up of vampires, witches, werewolves, and more (and it's already made its presence known on both shows). Well, the third series in the "Immortal Universe" was given an official green light earlier today, with AMC developing the six-episode The Talamasca for a 2025 premiere. In addition, Mark Lafferty is joining John Lee Hancock as co-showrunner.

"This all started for me with a call from Mark Johnson, who asked if I'd ever heard of The Talamasca. I was intrigued by the idea of an organization that, to me, had more than a passing resemblance to the CIA or MI6, which are necessary but not always necessarily transparent. An organization with its own secrets. Thankfully, Dan McDermott liked the take, and so did Mark Lafferty, who is so talented and accomplished in the world of television," Hancock shared. "Many thanks to everyone from Gran Via to Mark Lafferty, to our talented writers, and everyone at AMC, who have been supporters, advocates, and cheerleaders from day one. I couldn't be more thrilled to be involved and look forward to presenting a third series in the Anne Rice Immortal Universe."

"When John told me about a clandestine organization in the Immortal Universe with its own hidden agendas, I was immediately hooked," Lafferty added. "I've admired his writing and directing for so long, and to be working with him is a true honor and thrill. Many thanks to Dan McDermott and all the incredibly talented people at AMC for their tireless support and talent, and to Mark Johnson — there is no better producer to learn from and work beside than him."

"With the second season of Interview with the Vampire currently receiving the best reviews of any show on television and with the production of Mayfair Witches about to wrap in Ireland, promising an even more compelling and unnerving second season, the question is what do we now add to the Immortal Universe of Anne Rice? The answer is a completely different show from the first two, but a show that nevertheless belongs under the Anne Rice umbrella. The Talamasca marries the procedural spy thriller with the supernatural and expands the thrills and the pleasures of our franchise's ambitions," "Immortal Universe" Executive Producer Mark Johnson noted.

Interview with the Vampire S02E03 Drops Big Talamasca Tease (Spoilers)

So what does this have to do with "No Pain" (directed by Levan Akin with teleplay from Heather Bellson)? When it comes to setting the stage for expanding the on-screen universe and setting up the spinoff, a whole lot. Just to be clear – we know that the Talamasca was a presence during the first season of Mayfair Witches – but this season/episode of "Interview" is really putting the organization at the center of everything.

As much as we've been loving what's been going on in the past, it's what's building in the present timeline – in and around Dubai – that has us hooked. Well, the fine folks behind tonight's episode definitely fed our conspiracy hunger. Before Daniel (Bogosian) can potentially get a little personal meal time, he makes an unexpected "friend" in the form of Justin Kirk's (Weeds, Perry Mason)' Raglan James. While he never names Talamasca as the organization that he works for, the way James has a very vested interest in who Daniel is interviewing is very telling – as is how he knows what's been going on during the interviews. Adding to the ten-ton hint was James telling Daniel that "The Great Conversion" is very real, with the 900 vampires that his group has been monitoring has grown to 1600 in an alarmingly short period of time – a month.

Before Daniel creates a scene to give himself enough distance to process everything, James makes Daniel aware of some encrypted files that they've passed along to him to prove their point – and that they have no problem accessing Daniel's computer whenever they want. While the James that we meet in the episode appears to be a major player within the clandestine organization, in Rise's literary universe, he is a gifted psychic with the ability to switch bodies with people who served as a member of Talamasca until getting the boot for constant thievery. Even more interesting, James serves as a major protagonist in Rice's 1992 novel, The Tale of the Body Thief. Hmmm… will we get a live-action backstory for James that matches with Rice's work or a reworking? So far, we've seen how the intel that the Talamasca gave Daniel has helped rebalance the scales between himself and Louis and Armand – and, after this past weekend's chapter, may have driven a divide between the two vampires. As we saw from the trailer for this weekend's episode, it's clear that the Talamasca – and James – have more to share. Stay tuned!

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