Season 2 premieres May 12 on AMC and AMC+.
The Big Picture
- Season 2 of
Anne Rice’s Interview with the Vampire
continues where Season 1 left off, exploring tangled relationships and unforeseen consequences. - The cast is even more comfortable in their roles, with Jacob Anderson especially shining as Louis, while the story becomes even more intricate.
- The second season expands the greater Immortal Universe, diving deeper into complex dynamics and potential connections.
When Anne Rice’s Interview with the Vampire first premiered in 2021, it was met with guarded anticipation. Over the years, there have only been a handful of attempts to adapt the late author’s most popular series, The Vampire Chronicles, to ultimately mixed results. Subsequent adaptation plans for the vampire saga never even made it out of development hell. But AMC’s securing of the rights to Rice’s beloved novels was a promising step forward, one that was poised to breathe new life into these immortal creatures via not just a standalone series, but a potential universe. Since Interview with the Vampire was first announced, there’s been a Mayfair Witches show as well as plans to develop an upcoming spin-off based on the mysterious organization known as the Talamasca — and, presumably, even more to come beyond those. But when going back to where it all began, the biggest question became whether Interview with the Vampire‘s latest chapter could replicate Season 1’s smash-hit success. Good news for longtime fans and newcomers alike: after screening the first six episodes of Season 2 provided for review, the answer is a resounding yes, and then some.
Interview with the Vampire
Based on Anne Rice’s iconic novel, follow Louis de Pointe’s epic story of love, blood and the perils of immortality, as told to the journalist Daniel Molloy.
- Release Date
- 2022-00-00
- Creator
- Rolin Jones
- Cast
- Sam Reid , Jacob Anderson , Eric Bogosian , Bailey Bass , Assad Zaman
- Main Genre
- Horror
- Seasons
- 2
What Is ‘Interview with the Vampire’ Season 2 About?
Season 2 of Interview with the Vampire essentially picks up where the first installment of the story left off — in fact, the show itself explicitly labels the season as a “Part Two,” almost as a way to signal to viewers that this is more of a continuation of the previous narrative. After a particularly bloody plot to kill their sire, Lestat de Lioncourt (Sam Reid), seemingly results in his death in 1940, vampires Louis de Pointe du Lac (Jacob Anderson) and Claudia (Delainey Hayles, taking over for Bailey Bass from Season 1) fleeto Europe with the hope of finding others like themselves. They ultimately culminate their journey in Paris, where their conspicuous nighttime activities earn the attention of the Théâtre des Vampires, a local coven headed by the vampire Armand (Assad Zaman). Although Louis and Armand choose to pursue a romance, much to Claudia’s visible chagrin, it is a relationship that will have unforeseen consequences for the entire group. Amidst it all, Louis is haunted by Lestat’s memory but does his best to bury their lingering connection — especially once he discovers that Lestat was the one who founded the Théâtre des Vampires in the first place, and that he and Armand have their own thorny history.
Meanwhile, in 2022, with “Rashid’s” true identity now unveiled, the titular interview continues with Armand as a new third party, as veteran reporter Daniel Molloy (Eric Bogosian) now attempts to sift through lies and obfuscations in order to root out the truth. With Louis’ memory not as reliable as the vampire had believed it to be, and Armand now present in their conversations, Daniel is forced to balance on an even more dangerous tightrope in speaking with two powerful creatures whose temperaments could turn in an instant. What makes his predicament even more convoluted is that Daniel seems to be remembering bits and pieces from his previous interview with Louis, and as the details that were previously blurred for many years finally make their way to the surface, the revelations that arise could have destructive consequences for current relationships.
‘Interview with the Vampire’s Cast Is Firmly Settled in Their Roles in Season 2
With every first season comes expected growing pains, but Season 2 of Interview with the Vampire illustrates that this cast has never been more comfortable inhabiting their respective characters. Hayles might have the heaviest lifting to do in assuming the role of Claudia from another actress, and while her version of the character feels inherently different from Bass’s incarnation, she brings a more mature interpretation that’s very much needed for Claudia at this stage of the story. As a vampire who was turned at a young age, Claudia is perpetually trapped in a pre-pubescent body while possessing the evolved mind of an adult woman, and Hayles’ layered portrayal feels perfectly in line with that dichotomy, especially in her more combative scenes with Anderson. As the version of Lestat who perpetually haunts Louis in Season 2, Reid also gets to inhabit facets of the character we’ve never really seen before, which allows the actor to lean full-tilt into exaggerated facial expressions, over-the-top theatrics, and impassioned declarations.
Although “Rashid” was only an intermittent shadow in the first season, Zaman is given full rein to explore the breadth and depth of his character this time around. Like Anderson, he has to portray both the past and the present versions of Armand, and as Season 2 slowly discloses, time has become an essential teacher for the ancient vampire, not just in his somewhat codependent relationship with Louis, but also through the couple’s shared willingness to bury the pain of mutually inflicted wounds. When 2022’s interview resumes, it’s unclear whether Armand is sticking around to offer a different perspective on the story or correct Louis’ version of events, but what becomes increasingly obvious is that there are some details the two are not in unison on, and the subsequent rising tension between the longtime paramours makes for some of the best moments of the season. Comparatively, Louis and Armand might seem more in sync in the past, but even then there are signs that their relationship will have more than one obstacle in its path — chief among them the Théâtre’s lead performer, Santiago, played by the deliciously enthralling Ben Daniels.
As Daniel Molloy, the journalist who begins to find himself in over his head with the present-day interview, Bogosian gives off the impression of a man forced to tread water alongside circling sharks. Now that Louis has essentially been outed as an unreliable narrator — though not necessarily through any fault of his own — Daniel has an even more involved role to play in trying to get to the root of the story while being met with denial and resistance at almost every turn. Yet, even if Louis initially presents himself as a more hostile witness at first, one has the sense that he still wants to unlock the inner recesses of his own mind — whether Armand tacitly gives his permission or not. Louis and Daniel’s dynamic has been steadily moving away from that of interviewer and subject in favor of something that feels much closer to confidant and confessor, which wouldn’t be possible without the actors’ continually deepening rapport on-screen.
If there’s anyone to whom Season 2 of Interview with the Vampire ultimately belongs, however, it’s Anderson. First and foremost, the series reminds us that this is Louis’ story, and, as a consequence, Anderson is featured in almost every scene. That command, however, doesn’t become cloying; it only reminds us that Louis is one of the most tragic characters in the narrative, a vampire searching for meaning and community while navigating a strong sense of self-loathing and contempt for his very nature. It could be argued that Louis reaches even lower lows this season, but it’s a testament to Anderson’s phenomenal work that that descent is rendered both heartbreaking and poignant as it plays out through several different timelines.
‘Interview with the Vampire’ Season 2 Tells an Even More Intricate Story
Interview with the Vampire has always succeeded with its exploration of complicated dynamics, and Season 2 continues in the same vein. Zaman’s Armand becoming a larger presence in the story causes a ripple effect on many different storylines, confirming that all the main characters have been more entwined over the years than any of us might have suspected. Even though Armand and Louis are a power couple tethered by past tragedies, and Louis continues to be tortured by Lestat’s ghost, Season 2 allows for the exploration of more than one attachment within the group — and, surprising absolutely no one, these vampires are exceptionally messy when it comes to relationship drama, especially when they’ve had centuries to brood about their feelings. Meanwhile, Daniel somehow fits into the story’s biggest triangle more unexpectedly, turning it into more of a square through connections that transcend a merely visceral hunger for blood.
Intimate dynamics aside, Season 2 seems poised to expand the world of the series on an even bigger level. Daniel might be urgently focused on nailing this interview (so he can later write a book that will automatically be catapulted to the top of the bestseller list), but he’s not the only one paying attention to what Louis and Armand have been up to all these years. While vampires have remained a secret from the greater population, that doesn’t mean they’ve been able to exist completely unnoticed. The corresponding reveals that emerge throughout the show’s second installment aren’t just engaging to follow along with; they’re an exciting way to build out AMC’s self-described Immortal Universe even further into the planned franchise that was envisioned for these books from the beginning. Yet these intriguing hints don’t detract or take away from the tangled, intricate story at the heart of Season 2, which continues to prove that Interview with the Vampire is still one of the best TV shows out there.
Interview with the Vampire
Anne Rice’s Interview with the Vampire continues to weave an intricate, tangled story in Season 2.
- Now that Armand’s identity has been revealed, Assad Zaman explores even more facets of the ancient vampire to captivating effect.
- Delainey Hayles brings a welcome and more mature energy to her version of Claudia.
- Season 2 proves that Jacob Anderson is the star of Interview with the Vampire.
- Interview with the Vampire Season 2 excitingly sows the seeds for the larger Immortal Universe.
Season 2 of Anne Rice’s Interview with the Vampire premieres May 12 on AMC and AMC+ in the U.S.
This article was originally published on collider.com