The Toronto-born producer of 鈥淎nne Rice鈥檚 Interview With the Vampire鈥� saysfans of the TV series who were sent reeling by a provocative finale will likely have to wait about a year for answers.听
Adam O鈥橞yrne says cameras are expected to roll for season two from April to August next year, and that timeline makes it unlikely the show will return in October 鈥� the month that season one appeared on AMC and its streamer AMC+.
鈥淢y guess is we won't make that window,鈥� O鈥橞yrne says from Los Angeles, expecting a later 2023 or early 2024 premiere. 鈥淭hat is an AMC call.鈥�
Most of the shoot will be in Prague, which will stand for Paris, and there are 鈥渧ery limited鈥� plans to also film in Paris and New Orleans: 鈥淭wo or three actors tops, and maybe a week in both places,鈥� he says.
Season one ended halfway through Rice鈥檚 1976 book about a white New Orleans plantation owner who becomes a vampire in 1791.听
The AMC version reimagines Louis as a gay Black man who falls headlong into a toxic love affair with a powerful white French vampire in 1910. It also adds a modern-day storyline set in 2022 Dubai.
The next eight episodes pick up where things left off at the beginning of 1940, with Louis and his vampire daughter Claudia heading to Europe to learn about their origins, says Ottawa-born screenwriter Hannah Moscovitch.听
"The first half of the book is all setup. And then the second half is all payoff," promises Moscovitch, who wrote one episode in the first season and is tapped for one-and-a-half in season two.
Here鈥檚 what we know about what鈥檚 next for 鈥淎nne Rice鈥檚 Interview With the Vampire.鈥� The following contains spoilers for season one:
MORE VAMPIRES: Rice鈥檚 supernatural universe is set to expand as Louis and Claudia, played by Jacob Anderson and Bailey Bass, meet several immortals.听
O鈥橞yrne says that includes actor Assad Zaman鈥檚 vampire Armand, who made a dramatic appearance in Dubai in the season one finale, and others at the Th茅芒tre des Vampires in Paris. 听
鈥淲e're going to get introduced to the vampire Santiago, who is a bit of a malefactor," says O鈥橞yrne.
The show will also add Claudia鈥檚 companion Madeleine, says O鈥橞yrne. There鈥檒l be some tweaks but O鈥橞yrne doesn鈥檛 expect her age, gender or race to differ from the book: 鈥淎s written, Madeleine is Madeleine."
In the book, Madeleine is a white maternal figure to a five-year-old white Claudia, who has been reimagined as a Black 14-year-old for the show.听
"Her relationship with Claudia is going to be appropriately complicated in the way that it is a real interesting relationship in the book,鈥� says O鈥橞yrne.听
鈥淲e've got some great stuff that I think will heighten the Madeleine character and make her particularly compelling given the time period that we're looking at."
A LOOK BACK: The finale raised questions about everything Louis has told his mortal interviewer Daniel Molloy.
"All of it will be revisited,鈥� says Moscovitch, adding that includes the horrific assault of episode five and Louis鈥� role in Lestat鈥檚 attempted murder in episode seven.
鈥淏ut I want to be careful to say that Louis will never be not believable as a victim," she says.
The events presented in season one were largely Louis鈥檚 perspective, save for elements from Claudia鈥檚 diaries.
"There might be things that cause Louis to re-evaluate his own memories. And then there might also be some opportunities for some perspectives of other characters," says O鈥橞yrne.
O鈥橞yrne says that could eventually include Lestat, who "hasn't had his moment to say what went down.鈥�
鈥淎s the series goes on, certainly a little bit in season two and then if we get beyond that, we'll start to get more perspectives on events."
THE LOVE OF LOUIS鈥� LIFE: "We're going to get a lot more Armand, obviously,鈥� says O鈥橞yrne.
鈥淎nd his relationship with Louis will certainly be a focus (and) of how he came to be 鈥� as Louis describes him in the finale 鈥� the love of his life.鈥�
Much in the way the show鈥檚 version of Lestat was also informed by Rice鈥檚 second book, 鈥淭he Vampire Lestat,鈥� Moscovitch says the show鈥檚 Armand is shaped by incarnations seen in later novels, including book six鈥檚 鈥淭he Vampire Armand.鈥�
O鈥橞yrne promises that Louis鈥� first love, Lestat, will also figure prominently next season, even though 鈥渉e has been knocked down a peg.鈥�
鈥淭here will be plenty of (actor) Sam Reid to make everyone happy.鈥�
DUPLICITY IN DUBAI: The interview in 2022 Dubai initially seemed little more than a framing device for dramatic flashbacks to 1900s New Orleans but that all flipped in a finale twist that cast doubt on nearly everything shared about the past and present.
The real reason journalist Molloy was brought to Dubai will become clearer, promises O鈥橞yrne.
鈥淲hy Armand is doing what he's doing and the dynamics between the two of them 鈥� meaning Louis and Armand and then also frankly, Armand and Molloy 鈥� are things that will be heavily explored in season two,鈥� he says.
Louis鈥� interview with Molloy will end with the next eight episodes, he adds, even though any future seasons that follow would still be referred to as an 鈥淚nterview With the Vampire.鈥澨�
"In the season three that (showrunner) Rolin (Jones) has in his head, I think there will be some kind of Lestat perspective, let's put it that way. Whether that's sitting down to have an interview or some other device to show the world through his eyes.鈥�
LOUIS鈥� FUTURE: If the TV series continues beyond the first book and adheres to The Vampire Chronicles storyline, Louis would be relegated to the sidelines as Lestat takes centre stage.
O鈥橞yrne says creators are aware of fan fears that the currentBlack-led story is positioned to serve a white hero鈥檚 arc.听
Assuming more seasons come, he says Louis will remain 鈥渁 force in the show, in some way or another going forward.鈥�
鈥淭he way we have envisioned the show from a racially diverse perspective is something that will continue to be a priority for us,鈥� says O鈥橞yrne.
"Part of that would be trying to keep Louis involved beyond the way he just dips in-and-out of the canon (after) the first book."
Issues around race were prominent in season one and will continue in season two as Louis and Claudia explore Europe, says O鈥橞yrne, teasing that it will touch on 鈥淔rance's colonial past."
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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 21, 2022.
Cassandra Szklarski, The Canadian Press
