In short
This 1A episode discusses AMC’s Interview with the Vampire season 3, premiering Sunday June 7. It frames the show’s return as a shift in perspective: Lestat de Lioncourt takes the “driver’s seat,” with his music and a 265-year backstory.
Key claims
the adaptation was pitched as gothic romance rather than pure horror; fandom is demanding but energizing; the show is designed to be rewatchable with episodes that “talk to each other”; and season 3 confronts vampires facing mortality.
Notable examples
Louis is reimagined as a Black man in 1920s New Orleans, with tension from Jim Crow-era visibility; Louis “wears grief like velvet”; Lestat’s rock-star arc is seeded earlier (e.g., playing piano with Jelly Roll Morton) and culminates in a stage performance.
Guests
Rollin Jones (series creator/showrunner), Jacob Anderson (Louis), Sam Reid (Lestat).
Written by AI. May contain mistakes. Listen to the episode to check what was said.
Chapters
Tap a time to open that second in VOThe Vampire Lestade and Anne Rice
0:31 to 1:45
Discussion about the character of Lestade and the legacy of Anne Rice.
“On Tuesday, a legion of screaming fans packed the Beacon Theater in New York City, arms outstretched for the glittery, long-haired rock star known as the Vampire Lestade.”
Overview of the New Season
1:45 to 2:27
Insight into the changes in the third season of Interview with the Vampire.
“and meet the real Lestat de Leoncore after this short break.”
The Minds Behind the Show
2:43 to 3:21
Introduction of Rollin Jones and exploration of his vision for the series.
“I sound like the stepchild of Tom Waits and Harvey Fierstein right now.”
Fandom and Expectations
3:21 to 4:19
Discussion on the challenges and excitement of adapting a beloved franchise.
“The 1994 film adaptation of the first book grossed over$220 million at the box office.”
Character Development of Louis
4:19 to 6:28
Exploration of Louis's character and the decision to make him a black man in the 1920s.
“We got this message from Maxine in Texas.”
Louis's Journey and Identity
6:28 to 8:27
Discussion on the complexities of Louis's identity and relationships.
“It didn't seem like a huge leap to me to make him a black man, throw a rock in any direction.”
Jacob Anderson's Approach
8:27 to 9:21
Jacob Anderson discusses his approach to playing Louis and the show's depth.
“As you want with your romantic leads, you want things that are hot and spicy.”
Physicality and Performance
9:21 to 10:12
Jacob elaborates on the physicality of his character and the emotional weight.
“so beautifully said, is true of this character.”
Grief and Narrative in Season Three
10:12 to 14:01
Discussion on how grief affects Louis and how it shapes the new season's narrative.
“and then you just do it moment for moment.”
Exploring Grief and Immortality in Interview with The Vampire
14:01 to 18:00
A discussion about how characters in the series deal with grief and mortality.
“is I think that I have a kind of clean narrative brain sometimes where I'm kind of, I feel like things, I guess it was so beautifully encapsulated, Louis' grief.”
Show all 17 chapters
Introducing Sam Reid and Lestat’s Rock Star Persona
18:26 to 22:54
Discussion on the character of Lestat and his evolution as a rock star in the series.
“Let's get back to our conversation with the minds behind The Vampire Lestat, the third season of AMC's interview with The Vampire.”
The Sound of Lestat: Musical Influences and Evolution
22:55 to 28:05
Insights into the musical inspirations and sound design for Lestat’s character.
“My question is about the sound for this particular season.”
Recording Experience for 'Interview with the Vampire'
28:05 to 29:18
Hear about the unique recording process and preparations for the live performance.
“And it was kind of an interesting experience for me because I was recording the songs before we had started working on the show.”
Navigating Shifts in Tone and Environment
29:18 to 30:46
Explore how the show adapts its tone and setting across different seasons.
“We're talking to the minds behind The Vampire Lestat, the third season of AMC's interview with the vampire with series creator Roland Jones and actors Jacob Anderson and Sam Reid.”
The Challenge and Opportunity of Change
30:46 to 33:13
Discuss the evolving nature of the show and the characters' journeys over time.
“This is a show that has, you've talked about this before, Raleigh, you repilot every season.”
Takeaways from Season Three
33:13 to 34:39
Learn about the themes of failure and courage that resonate in the new season.
“I mean, my favorite thing about this season, and it's something that I very much try and live by every day, and kind of relates as well to what I like to do in music and in acting is like this idea of failure.”
Preview of Future Topics
35:14 to 35:49
A brief mention of a new discussion on hyper-masculinity and boys' issues.
“Richard Reeves is unimpressed by online influencers who peddle ideas about hyper-masculinity.”
Transcript
Automatic transcript. May contain errors.0:00Sam Reid:It's June and another big week in the run-up to the midterms. Primaries in half a dozen states, including California, where new congressional maps are in place. And a chaotic race for governor is wide open. We're also following gas prices and Iran. So far, talk of a peace deal is just talk. We'll keep you posted. Listen every morning, Up First, on the NPR app or wherever you get your podcasts.
0:31Sam Reid:On Tuesday, a legion of screaming fans packed the Beacon Theater in New York City, arms outstretched for the glittery, long-haired rock star known as the Vampire Lestade.
0:49Sam Reid:Of course, in reality, the Vampire Lestade de Leoncore and his touring band don't exist. He's the creation of beloved horror writer Anne Rice, and this version of him, played by actor Sam Reid, is at the center of AMC's television adaptation of Rice's books. But for the very real fans who packed the Beacon Theater this week, these distinctions are unimportant, and it speaks to a shared commitment between the fans of Anne Rice's vampiric world and the actors and creators behind the series who strive to honor it. Interview with the Vampire's third season premieres Sunday. It's a departure from the first two seasons, which focused on Louis Dupondulac, his transformation into a vampire, and his rocky relationship with his maker, Lestat.
1:32Sam Reid:I'm Jen White. You're listening to the 1A Podcast. The third season of Interview with the Vampire puts Lestat in the driver's seat, his perspective, his music, and a peek into his 265-year backstory. We'll look into the shadows with some of the minds behind the show and meet the real Lestat de Leoncore after this short break. Stay with us.
1:58Sam Reid:NPR's newest podcast is where you can find NPR's biggest interviews. I'm Steve Inskeep. The program is called Newsmakers. We talk with some of the most powerful and influential people at this moment
2:09Anne Rice:to put real questions to them and push for real answers. Follow Newsmakers on the NPR app or any podcast player, or you can watch on NPR's YouTube channel.
2:21Sam Reid:Welcome back to the 1A Podcast. We're talking about the latest season of AMC's Interview with the Vampire. Joining us now from NPR New York to discuss the new season and the work of honoring Anne Rice's legacy are the minds behind Interview with the Vampire. Rollin Jones is the series creator and showrunner. Welcome to the program.
2:41Anne Rice:Hello. Apologies. I sound like the stepchild of Tom Waits and Harvey Fierstein right now. So, I love my voice.
2:49Sam Reid:It makes for good radio, don't worry. So, we've been getting a lot of love for this show in our inbox. Here's Lola in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
2:56Anne Rice:Thank you for mentioning Interview with the Vampire that's coming on AMC. It has to be one of my favorite books of all time. One of the most sensuous, romantic, darkly wonderful books I've ever read.
3:10Sam Reid:And I hope the season is as good as the book. Grawlin, I want to start with how this adaptation came to be. We hear there in Lola's message, this is a beloved franchise. The original book series sold more than 80 million copies. The 1994 film adaptation of the first book grossed over$220 million at the box office. What was it about this world you first felt drawn to?
3:33Anne Rice:I had an overall deal with AMC. I knew they spent a lot of money on it. I was like, I think they're going to make this. So it started out very mercenary. But I read the first three novels, and I came back to them, and I gave them the old standard pitch. I think I'm less interested in the horror part of it and more in the gothic romance of it. And I led that way, and they were down for it. And it started out as this sort of, oh, here's another job. And there's been a beautiful immersion of me catching up to all these people who have loved this book for so long, understanding why and joining them over the years at the same level of love and devotion for Anne's quite singular vision.
4:21Sam Reid:We got this message from Maxine in Texas. I want to first of all thank you for doing it for the girls and the gays. The Anne Rice universe holds such a power in popular culture. How does the power of fandom challenge you, scare you, and excite you going into season three?
4:38Anne Rice:It's always thrilling. And, you know, you get a sense that this happens once in a career. You get lucky enough where you've met some, you know, bit of crossover, you know, pop culture or this weird, bizarro family. Apparently right now doing very well in the Midwest. That's Tulsa and Texas already. It's exciting. And it doesn't worry us other than there's an expectation to deliver something that is bold and aggressive and wild and maddening and dense. Probably not a word you hear a lot for the vampire shows. But we try to build this thing that is rewatchable over and over again in the way in which we've structured it and the way in which they talk to – the episodes talk to each other.
5:29Anne Rice:And we respect them. They're a very smart audience. And we try to keep the show as smart as we can.
5:35Sam Reid:Well, I want to go back in time for a moment. The first two seasons of the show followed the first book in Anna Rice's series, also titled Interview with the Vampire. And it focuses on Louis. He's sharing his life story with this hardened journalist, Daniel Molloy, played by Eric Boghossian, in the show. And in your version, Louis is a black man living in New Orleans in the 1920s. He's seduced by the vampire Lestat while grappling with his sexuality, his treatment in the Jim Crow South, his familial expectations. How did you land on this version of Louis?
6:08Anne Rice:Oh, I don't know. I mean, I think probably first and foremost, I wasn't really totally interested in writing about the tortured soul of a plantation owner.
6:22Anne Rice:But tasked to do a slightly different thing than the novel. they want you know when they spend the money they want to be able to make 10 years of the show so you have to sort of build in inherently as much conflict as you can between your lead characters and so we started there we knew it was going to be a Lestat-Louis show and let's put them you know on opposite moons to begin with so that we have enough fire not only for the first episode for season blah blah blah So it's in New Orleans. It didn't seem like a huge leap to me to make him a black man, throw a rock in any direction. And then culturally or visually, or orally, I want to say it, you were looking for a time period, if we were going to vault it, where a black man could meet Lestat where he's at, at least money-wise and stature-wise.
7:23Anne Rice:And it sort of opened it up to, you know, one of the very quirky, weird moments in American history where there was an actual red light district where a man of a color could make some money running, you know, joints. And so, you know, it started there. And it just began to deliver a lot of exciting, interesting stuff, especially once the relationship started. You know, you think a vampire offers you all these gifts. You're going to be very powerful beyond your means. But Louis still got to walk through, you know, 1910 America. And, you know, you might be a vampire on the inside. You're a black man on the outside.
8:09Anne Rice:And you have a certain way you were seen there. And there's tension there because I think this other vampire initially doesn't quite understand that. He's like, I gave you this. Stop worrying about all these human things. And that created, I think, an interesting bit of tension dramatically to play. As you want with your romantic leads, you want things that are hot and spicy.
8:32Sam Reid:Oh, you don't lack for heat and spice. Well, let's turn to the actor tasked with playing Louis, Jacob Anderson. He joins us now. Jacob, welcome to the program.
8:43Anne Rice:Hi. Thank you for having me.
8:44Sam Reid:So everything Roland just laid out there, that's a lot to tackle as an actor, even setting aside the vampire element, the 145 years of backstory Louis is trying to make sense of when we meet him. How did you approach inhabiting this version of Louis when you said yes to this role?
9:04Anne Rice:Day by day, moment by moment. I think it's kind of the only way to approach it. And it is, the show is so richly textured in all directions and you can get overwhelmed with the weight of that. And, you know, particularly everything Roland just said, so beautifully said, is true of this character. And I'm a black British man. My context is slightly different, but there's a lot that I understood about this person. I grew up in a place, I'd say it's the UK's, New Orleans equivalent, Bristol, which is this very musical, artistic city with a complicated background and a very dark history. So I think there were things about Louis that I just kind of innately understood.
10:05Anne Rice:So that set me off on a good, that started me off well. But yeah, I think you just have to like, you do all the work in the beginning and then you just do it moment for moment. It's such a playful thing that we get to do. It's such a playful show. It also helped you got COVID, so you had an extra week to learn how to tap down.
10:26Sam Reid:I'm curious about the physicality of your character, Jacob, in that there are times when physically he feels very free or it seems that he moves with his fluidity. And there are other times when there is such a stillness to him as if he's containing so much within his body. How did you think about how he shows up physically in the world?
10:51Anne Rice:I think that's it. I think you said it, really. I think he's, to contain all of those multitudes in your brain, it's such an overwhelming experience. It's so overstimulating. I think you have to sort of create a solid shell around it, Really to protect yourself, and I guess by extension protect others from this. It's like when someone shakes up a can. I always used to think of Louis physically as like he's sort of, he's a soda can that's been shook one too many times. It has to pop at some point. But yeah, that requires some kind of rigidity, I think, in the way he presents himself. I'm trying to think about what soda he would do.
11:41Anne Rice:Well, in honor of Ron Marais, it has to be Tab, right? Yeah, yeah, yeah. Tab, there we go. A shaken up can of tab.
11:47Sam Reid:But we've been hearing a lot of love for the series. We got this text, the TV adaptation of Interview with the Vampire is one of the best, the most important entries into the history of television. And another of you writes, taking an incredibly well-known story with a movie that was a cultural icon a few decades ago and making it modern with the added complexities of race and identities was absolutely inspired. It made the story fresh and so, so compelling. The season one pilot is like the greatest movie you've ever seen. Well, let's play a clip from that pilot episode.
12:22Anne Rice:I had never allowed myself to feel emotionally close to anyone, much less a man. I had no room for feelings like these in my life. You could be a lot of things in New Orleans, but an openly gay Negro man was not one of them. I vowed never to return again. I shut that night out of my mind and turned my attentions back to life as it was before.
12:54Sam Reid:The show's major theme centers on memory and the way Louis exists in Lestat's imagination is really fascinating this season, Jacob. In season two, we see Louis in real time and in his recollection of past events, struggling with the grief of Claudia's death. This is the teenage vampire who Lestat and Louis care for as their daughter after turning her in the 1920s. Louis is, and I don't want to spoil much here, but Louis is a badass, right? So there's a lot more physicality. There's more action scenes. But how are you thinking about how that grief would evolve through Louis' life and where he would be in that process when we meet him this season?
13:37Anne Rice:I mean, I think this is a great question, and I think it's something that Roland and I and Hannah Moscovich, who are wonderful. A Canadian national treasure, folks. A Canadian national treasure, Hannah Moscovich. RIP Alice Munro. It's over. It's now Hannah. Hard agree. Yeah, it was something we talked about. is I think that I have a kind of clean narrative brain sometimes where I'm kind of, I feel like things, I guess it was so beautifully encapsulated, Louis' grief. I felt like we reached this really positive, peaceful place at the end of season two. And what I came to realize, really in execution, when I started to see the script for season three, was that that's impossible.
14:30Anne Rice:It's practically impossible for an immortal being to just sort of make peace with really anything. Because it's not something that we're able to do either in humanity, I think. And I don't know if it's particularly healthy. It's just that Louis, there's this beautiful quote that Anne Rice said about Louis, which was, I'm going to butcher this, I'm sorry. But it was like, Louis wears grief like velvet. it like it's just it's dripping off him it is always grief has become louis throughout his mortal and immortal life um and so of course we have to go back into the trenches you can't just uh not to spoil anything about season two i guess but you you can't just sort of um keep trophies of your grief and then say that's that's all done and dusted um and yeah Louis kind of goes down the darkest path you could possibly go down this season um yeah I wonder
15:38Sam Reid:how working with material like this makes you think both of you think about about time I mean we in some ways have the benefit of knowing that at some point for good or ill, our lives end, right? So we have this fixed period of time, but you have your characters who, barring outside forces, will live forever with so much opportunity to revisit mistakes and hurts, how they've hurt others, how they've been hurt, and come away with some interesting conclusions sometimes. But I mean, have you thought about time and mortality any differently after working on this show? Roland?
16:24Anne Rice:Sure. Throw me that one. Well, time is this warped thing when you're working on a show. First world problems. I'm not working in a coal mine. I'm very grateful for it. but it consumes you and time does really bend my four and a half year old she's lost two teeth I haven't been there either time and yeah you begin to see even in the course of doing the show what my face looks like now and what it looked like five years ago it's like Lincoln aging is not it's not been pretty so I've experienced time very weirdly these last years there have been there's also a personal thing in my private life where mortality, I got a taste of that for a second and yeah, things quite shift a lot and a great deal of season three, without spoiling a lot, is about vampires actually facing mortality and how they deal with that and how they pivot off of it.
17:43Sam Reid:We're discussing The Vampire Lestat, the third season of AMC's interview with The Vampire. We're talking to series creator and showrunner Roland Jones. Also with us, Jacob Anderson. And after the break, we meet The Vampire Lestat. Sam Reid joins us. That's just a hack.
18:04Sam Reid:The surreal horror film Back Rooms is a smash. The director is a 20-year-old YouTuber, and it's based on his popular web series. Why is this online phenomenon taking off at the box office? We get into it on NPR's Pop Culture Happy Hour. Listen via the NPR app or wherever you get your podcasts. Let's get back to our conversation with the minds behind The Vampire Lestat, the third season of AMC's interview with The Vampire. It premieres on Sunday. We're talking to the series creator and showrunner, Roland Jones. Also with us, Jacob Anderson, who plays Louis. And now let's welcome Sam Reid, who plays Lestat de Leoncourt.
18:46Sam Reid:Welcome to the program, Sam.
18:47Anne Rice:Thank you very much. Thanks for having us.
18:49Sam Reid:So you read Anne Rice's work. So you knew there was the possibility that Lestat will get a rock star turn in the series.
Read the full transcript
18:58Anne Rice:Definitely.
18:59Sam Reid:So when that came to fruition, what did you think about as soon as you found out what came to mind?
19:04Anne Rice:Well, yeah, I mean, it's interesting because you say that I had an inclination that it would go that way. And so that was always part of Lestat as a character for me. Like, you know, having read the books, he was always this rock star vampire. So I was always trying to find places that we could seed that initial idea in previous seasons. And I think the first time I feel like we got a chance to do it, he's sort of playing on the piano in the New Orleans club with Jelly Roll Morton. And he's sort of thrashing his head around on the piano. And I thought that was sort of like the first time you get to see a bit of a rock star element come through.
19:40Anne Rice:And then, of course, you know, we have him on the stage as an actor in the 18th century, even though it's kind of told through a bit of a warped kind of sentiment. It is still him. That is still him. And he is like, you know, a consummate performer and kind of entertainer. And, you know, like you couldn't, I think those like 18th century stage stars are sort of rock stars in a way. And were, that's all they had really. And so it did feel like quite a seamless transition, I think, for Lestat to kind of finally be his rock star persona, which I think Anne Rice kind of did this amazing creation of this rock star vampire, which you've seen so many iterations of now.
20:21Anne Rice:So it's fun to kind of like get out, get to do our version of it.
20:24Sam Reid:Well, as I was watching the pilot episode of the third season and watching Lestat on stage, I was wondering who inspired his performance persona. You know, there's the low slung leather pants and there's a sort of slithery element to his movement.
20:46Anne Rice:Yeah, I mean, in all honesty, it's actually the books, really. I mean, like, I did look a lot at David Bowie, particularly his live, the live bootleg live recordings of his concerts, particularly the cracked actor, one filmed in Los Angeles in the late 70s, I think. But, you know, but mainly to maintain that sort of like that there's this sort of alien creature behind the eyes, that there is this other worldliness to him. But really, Anne Rice is very specific about how Lestat is described in the books in the way that he's got this feline-like movements and he has this lion prowess and exudes confidence and is a dandy but also could kill eight wolves with his bare hands.
21:32Anne Rice:So there's sort of like a lot of the character is sort of there. And then you have Roland and Hannah's incredible dialogue and the situations that they put him in that I feel like there's so much material to mine that it would be sort of a disservice, I think, to kind of go and copy somebody else. Obviously, Anne Rice makes reference to like Jim Morrison and Bon Jovi. You know, but I don't think we really we go we don't go down. I think the Morrison pants are there. We sort of pay homage to that. But it was actually really interesting, you know, working with Lex Wood, the costume designer, when we were trying to work out what his online, not online, his onstage persona is, the more clothes we put on him, the more it became less him or at least what he's trying to do.
22:26Anne Rice:So it was like, oh, maybe I'll put a shirt on in this one. and then I was like, oh, no, it doesn't quite work. You know, it's more, it is more about showing the scars and showing himself and letting the body kind of be the costume for those performances as opposed to kind of like building him up to be anything else. No bread for Sam Reid for a year. No bread, no beer, very sad. I did definitely carb load in a massive way when we finished.
22:53Sam Reid:Well, we got this message from Vardica in Austin, Texas.
22:57Anne Rice:My question is about the sound for this particular season. I'm interested in knowing what were the specific influences that were thought of by the team for Lestat and for his rock career. What were the specific genres or instances or even clips, media, that were very influential in creating this distinct sound for Lestat for this season?
23:25Sam Reid:Well, series composer Daniel Hart wrote music and lyrics for Lestat this season. And the book takes place in the 80s. This new season takes place in 2025. So, Roland, where did the inspiration for Lestat's music come from?
23:40Anne Rice:Well, a lot of things. A specific sound for him, I think when we early, you know, we started in, we thought a little bit about, you know, Mark Boland, T-Rex. but what we really wanted to do was take Lestat on a journey he forms his band he keeps his band in a garage for a year and a half until he thinks they are ready and then he unleashes them and I think we wanted to put that band just on the sound part of it through a journey that a band would normally go through over the course of like four albums or ten years if you're with the Vampire Lestat, that's going to happen in about five months and you've got to be really, really quick on your feet.
24:25Anne Rice:So the music changes over the course of the season. Whether you want to say we're groping towards a more vampiric sound or a more personal, raw, more vulnerable set of lyrics, there was a journey. We started with, you know, 70s pop and rock that we liked, and then we sort of built on there. So, you know, didn't want to discount classical references and all the other things that he had accumulated over the years. But, I mean, Sam, you should probably talk a little bit more once you got in with Dan about that. Yeah, what am I going to say about that? The references, it was interesting for me because you're singing as a character, like you're performing as a character, and it's sort of dangerous because you don't want it to be so large that you can't really enjoy the music either.
25:27Anne Rice:So a lot of my questions with Daniel early on were like, what does he sound like? What are we doing? and Daniel sent me a reference of Kurt Cobain very early on and that really threw me, to be honest. I was kind of like, how does this work? And, you know, Kurt Cobain sort of slowly came in. In terms of the sound, we found a kind of scream that he could access in terms of his physical sound. But in terms of the references, yeah, I mean, like, you know, I think it was at a Comic-Con a couple of years ago, Daniel and Roland had the most extraordinarily massive list of references, which was sort of like so overwhelming to listen to.
26:16Anne Rice:But I think it sort of encapsulates what they're trying to do, which is if this character has lived centuries, then he's absorbed so much musical influence over his time. And he is picking and choosing what he likes to hear and he's trying different things. But as the story cracks him open and as he uses music to kind of discover himself on a more sort of personal and intimate level, the songs become more stripped back and they become more vulnerable and more honest. And you feel like he's trying less to portray a character of a rock star, you know, like he would be portraying the character of, you know, an 18th century comedia dell 'arte actor.
27:00Anne Rice:He's now exploring what it might be like to be just an artist and make mistakes and be vulnerable and put something out there that people might hate or not want to see and fail.
27:14Sam Reid:Well, Jacob, you're a musician. You perform as Raleigh Ritchie. What conversations did you and Sam have about being a musician and touring artist?
27:26Anne Rice:We kind of didn't. I think that Sam has such a strong instinct, not only on the character of Lestat, but of what is instrumental. Lestat's influences have been a part of this since the beginning of us starting this show. I think it was all in Sam already. I don't think I need, he didn't need me to, I gave one piece of advice that was very surface level, literally surface level. No, I mean, because I spent a lot of time in a recording studio throughout this process, more than I've ever done in my life. And it was kind of an interesting experience for me because I was recording the songs before we had started working on the show.
28:18Anne Rice:And then I got the opportunity to do the songs again while we were doing the show. So they evolved over time. But Jacob, you know, I was like, I'm in the studio, I don't know. He's like, get lots of rugs, make sure there are rugs in the room. Why rugs? Well, rugs have two functions for me if I'm recording. One is that there's something very grounding about, like I like to lie on the floor a lot, like I like to be close to the ground. So being able to look at a beautiful rug helps, but also it's good for sound. And there were many rugs in the recording studio, Not by my request, but just for those particular reasons.
28:55Anne Rice:And then just before we did the concert last night, he did send me some great advice, which was like jump up and down. And I did. I did a lot of jumping up and down backstage.
29:05Sam Reid:And you're talking about the live performance you did as the vampire Lestat. And I saw some footage of that, and the audience was in. They were there with you fully in the moment. It was fascinating to watch. We're talking to the minds behind The Vampire Lestat, the third season of AMC's interview with the vampire with series creator Roland Jones and actors Jacob Anderson and Sam Reid. And we're hearing from you. Adam in New York sent us this message.
29:33Anne Rice:I'm thinking about how season one started the show off in sort of this southern gothic New Orleans environment. And then in season two, we jumped ahead and across the pond to this theater company of vampires in Paris. and how now for the third season we're going to jump ahead again and jump back across the pond for this sort of rock tour happening for the Vampire Lestat. And I guess I'm wondering for all of you, how do you navigate these seemingly massive shifts in both tone and environment in the show? Jacob, what do you think? I think that's the beauty of what this is. You know, it's such a...
30:10Anne Rice:It's a very internal and external journey for all of these characters and for us. And I mean, something that I think we kind of don't talk about that much really, but we have shot this show on maybe not three different continents, but in three very different countries. And you really feel the difference in each setting. But that keeps it fresh. I think it really is just a gift to be able to kind of evolve each time and change. This is a show that has, you've talked about this before, Raleigh, you repilot every season. Season two is a very different flavor to season one.
30:57Sam Reid:Sam, what about, or Raleigh, go ahead.
30:59Anne Rice:No, I was just going to say the bean counters don't like it. they'd really like us to sit in some sets for a while and get the most out of our it's uh it is a challenge it's a unique challenge uh there's not a lot of shows out there that have to uh pick up and move um in space and time like we do um so a challenge but an opportunity it's the best opportunity though the fact that it changes i mean you know like particularly when you're doing a long-running contract and you're repeating seasons and you're revisiting the character like every year or every two years, you know, and we're living in it all the time.
31:40Anne Rice:The fact that it changes so constantly, it makes it endlessly fascinating to return to and to investigate and to see. And the fact that these characters are immortal and live through all the ages of time, and it's so much fun to see them at different points of their life and in different time periods and wearing different costumes, but still keeping the thread of that character and see how the architecture of them exists across the ages. I mean, like that's actually, the fact that we change so much is probably the best thing about doing this show, I have to say.
32:13Sam Reid:Well, let's get to one more message. This one comes from Sierra in Long Beach. I wanted to know if there's ever a feeling or a thought or a question that you wanted folks to take away from the show as they watch it. And if you do, what is that particular thought or feeling for season three that you want them to take away? And then I also just wanted to shout out Riley Ritchie. You know, I love your music so much, Jacob. And when are you going to come visit your Yankee cousins? Like, come on, bring the tour over here stateside, okay?
32:46Anne Rice:Tour, tour, tour. SoCal needs you, man.
32:49Sam Reid:Jacob, I'll come to you first on that one. First, are you bringing the tour stateside?
32:54Anne Rice:Yeah. Yeah. Not this year, but yes. Okay.
32:58Sam Reid:Well, Sierra, make note.
32:59Anne Rice:I will be. I'll be back.
33:00Sam Reid:Put your coins away, save up. And in terms of any questions or things you want the audience to take away from this season?
33:13Anne Rice:That's very hard. I mean, my favorite thing about this season, and it's something that I very much try and live by every day, and kind of relates as well to what I like to do in music and in acting is like this idea of failure. Failure as a virtue, as something that you want to fail hard, fail again, stand up, fail hard, get up again. And keep going, you know, like I think that there is, there's real valor and courage in taking a big swing and failing and trying again. And I hope that that is something that people take with them.
33:58Sam Reid:Sam, really briefly.
33:59Anne Rice:Yeah, I mean, that's exactly that. It's the fact that if, you know, and this is, I'm so proud to be in this show and also to like work alongside Roland and Hannah, you know, the way that they work is they're so fearless. And it is that thing is like, if you can be fearless and you can take a big swing. And even if you fall flat on your face, at least you tried. At least you made, at least you attempted something. And it's incredible to be led by extraordinary showrunners like that.
34:26Sam Reid:Roland, I'll give you the last word here in just a quick sentence.
34:28Anne Rice:Yeah, failure. Most people just feel shame, want to crawl up in a corner, celebrate it, celebrate it, y 'all. It's such an important, beautiful part of life.
34:38Sam Reid:Well, that's Roland Jones. He's the series creator and showrunner. Also with us today, Jacob Anderson, who plays Louie, and Sam Reid, who plays Liz Stott. Thanks to you all. Season three of AMC's interview with the vampire airs on Sunday, June 7th. Today's producer was Arfi Getty. This program comes to you from WAMU, part of American University in Washington, distributed by NPR. I'm Jen White. Todd Zwillik is with you for the News Roundup tomorrow. Hope you tune in. Thanks for listening, and we'll talk more soon. This is 1A.
35:25Sam Reid:Richard Reeves is unimpressed by online influencers who peddle ideas about hyper-masculinity.
35:32Anne Rice:You're talking about boys and men. Where's your policy agenda? You're good on podcasts, but we've actually done a bunch of stuff for boys and men. Sorry, what have you done?
35:40Sam Reid:Ideas about the next era of manhood. That's on the TED Radio Hour podcast. Listen on the NPR app or wherever you get your podcasts.
From the publisher
Of course, in reality, the vampire Lestat de Lioncourt and his touring band don’t exist. He’s the creation of beloved horror writer Anne Rice. And this version of him, played by actor Sam Reid, is the lead of AMC’s television adaptation of Rice’s books.
But for the fans who packed the Beacon Theatre this week, these distinctions are unimportant. And it speaks to a shared commitment between the fans of Rice’s vampiric world and the actors and creators behind the series who strive to honor it.
The third season of “Interview with the Vampire’s” begins airing Sunday. It’s a departure from the first two – which focused on Louis de Point du Lac, played by actor Jacob Anderson, his transformation into a vampire, and his rocky relationship with his maker.
The third season puts Lestat in the driver’s seat – his perspective, his music, and a peak into his 200-year backstory. We sit down with the series showrunner and the actors to discuss the show’s third season, honoring Rice’s vision, and rocking out as a vampire.
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