This article contains spoilers forThe Vampire Chroniclesbooks and theInterview with the VampireTV show.
The AMC+ showInterview with the Vampireis based on the novel of the same name by horror and fantasy legend Anne Rice, but it makes many changes to the original story. TheInterview with the Vampirecharactersare taken from the Anne Rice novel, with many lines of dialogue pulled straight from the pages of the book. Remaining a remarkably faithful adaptation in spirit, the show’s many cosmetic changes to Anne Rice’s storyline range across timing, logistics, and setting. The show also embellishes the source material, drawing out some of the key themes of Anne Rice’s novel.
The first show in the Immortal Universe franchise, the show is playing in a large sandpit created by Anne Rice and sits alongsidetheMayfair WitchesTV showin the Anne Rice TV franchise. Based on Rice’sLives of the Mayfair Witchesbook series,Mayfair Witchesexists in the same world asInterview with the Vampireand looks forward to exciting crossovers in seasons to come. Looking towardInterview with the Vampireseason 3, the show is set to adapt more of Anne Rice’s seminalThe Vampire Chroniclesbook series, targeting a fresh, innovative interpretation ofThe Vampire Lestat.
10The Show Is Set In 2022
The Book Was Set In The 1970s
The show is set “49 years” after the interview described in the Anne Rice novelInterview with the Vampire, according to Louis' voiceover in season 1, episode 1.Interview with the Vampire, the first book inThe Vampire Chroniclesbook series, followed an unnamed boy interviewing Louis de Pointe du Lac, whose monologue comprised most of the book.The novel was published in 1976and the events of the book occurred at Rice’s time of writing.
The show set the date of Louis' interview with this boy as “9/4/73,” as per the label stuck on the cassette tape Daniel was playing in the opener of season 1. Therefore,Interview With the Vampireepisode 1 opens in 2022. This amounts to a huge change, far beyond a superficial difference in dates. Freeing Louis and Daniel from the social and sexual shackles of the ’70s, the show allows a contemporary exploration of the relationships in the novel and its sequels.
9Louis' Interview Is Published In 2022 In The Show
Louis' Interview Was Published In The ’70s In The Book
Anne Rice’s firstVampire Chronicle,Interview with the Vampire, ended with the unnamed boy narrowly escaping deathby blood loss after being drained by Louis, but the boy publishedInterview with the Vampireshortly after. The novel did not cover how this boy pulled his tapes together and made a draft transcription, which he then turned into a novel and published. This was, rather, alluded to in Anne Rice’s sequel,The Vampire Lestat.
Daniel Molloy Can Secretly Become One Of Interview With The Vampire’s Most Powerful Characters
Daniel Molloy is an exceptional character in Anne Rice’s world for a few reasons, and Interview with the Vampire is taking that and running with it.
The show’s Daniel doesn’t manage to publish the interview until after his second go at it in 2022, which seasons 1 and 2 cover. The show’s Daniel publishes the interview at the end ofInterview with the Vampireseason 2about 50 years after it originally happened, with a retelling of Louis' story under his belt.Louis' retelling balanced out the narrativeand provided more detail with a more considered perspective and less bias.
8Seasons 1 And 2 Of The Show Are Set In Dubai
The Book Is Set In San Francisco
The book was set in San Francisco, where an unnamed boy was sitting down in a flat on Divisadero Street interviewing Louis de Pointe du Lac. This happened 49 years ago in the show, which opens in modern-day USA, with Daniel receiving a letter from Louis. This constitutes just a few minutes of the opening of season 1 before the show moves events to Dubai, which is where Louis invited Daniel in the letter.The show offers a “redo” of the interview between Louis and Daniel, which occurs at Louis' home in Dubai in the show.
Most of the show takes place inside Louis' impressive mansion, complete with cutting-edge vampire protection like sun shields on the windows.Most of the book took place in Louis' San Francisco flat, which was far more modest, with “a harsh yellow light” and “A wash basin hung on one wall with a mirror.” This change speaks to the change in Louis, who has advanced and become more sophisticated since the ’70s. It also allows for some luscious set design, showing off the interior of Louis' home.
7Daniel Molloy Is Just As Important As Louis In The Show
Louis Was The Main Character Of The Book
Although the only two characters featured in theInterview with the Vampirenovel were Louis and the boy interviewing him,Louis' monologue took up most of the novel. As such, Louis' telling of his story shaped Lestat, Claudia, and Armand more than the novel shaped the boy pressing play on the tape recorder. Indeed, this boy wasn’t even named until the thirdVampire Chronicle,The Queen of the Damned. Conversely, Rolin Jones' show gave this character a name and a voice, opening the show with him and showing his perspective.
Daniel holds a contemporary lens over Louis' story, asking both Louis and viewers to interrogate it by modern standards.
Daniel Molloy and Louis interact far more in the show than they do in the book, and Daniel has more gravitas. He is older, wiser, and more than a match for Louis. In the show,Daniel is the connecting tissue between the modern-day and the period romance and horrorof Louis' outlandish story. He brings the narrative and dialogue up to date, providing cutting-edge quips and wit. Daniel holds a contemporary lens over Louis' story, asking both Louis and viewers to interrogate it by modern standards.
6The Show Spends More Time In The Present Day
The Show’s Flashbacks Are Set In A Different Era To The Book’s Flashbacks
Consisting mostly of Louis' monologue, Anne Rice’s novel was mostly embedded in eras of the past, from the 1700s to the 1800s and beyond.The AMC+ show follows a similar format to the novel, with Louis' monologue making up a large chunk of seasons 1 and 2. The show depicts a small part of Louis' monologue in its present day but switches into flashback mode to represent most of it. This makes much ofInterview with the Vampireseasons 1 and 2 a period drama, evoking New Orleans from the 1910s onwards, in contrast to the book.
Interview with the Vampireseason 3will adaptThe Vampire Lestat, which also tells a story of a distant past, and may constitute many flashbacks as well. However, the Immortal Universe TV show flicks away from Louis' telling of his story and back to the present day much more than the book.There is a present-day storyline going on in the show that is absent from the book- Daniel interacts with the Talamasca to back up the truth of Louis' story, unearthing shocking facts.
5Armand And Louis Are Still Together In The Show
Armand Left Louis Before The Interview In The Book
One of the biggest differences between the book and the show is that Armand had already left Louis by the time of the events of the book, butArmand never left Louis in the show. In the show, Armand is still with Louis throughout the events of the book - the ’70s interview done in San Francisco. Moreover, Armand and Louis remain together even fifty years in the future. This big change allows viewers to follow the drama of the implosion of Armand and Louis' relationship in real time, adding a new level of relevance to Louis' monologue.
In the show, the flashbacks impact the present day and the present day impacts the flashbacks, holding both Louis and Armand accountable for their past actions and for their dishonesty. Anne Rice’s novel is classic Southern Gothic horror. In siphoning half of the story away from the flashback and into the present setting,the story retained its horror elements while becoming a real, contemporary dramaable to compete with other prime-time TV. The show did leave Armand and Louis thoroughly separated by the end of its adaptation of book one (by the end of season 2).
4Claudia Is Older In The Show
Claudia Was Five In The Book
Claudia was only five when she was turned in the book, but she was 14 when she was turned in the show.Aging Claudia up allowed the show to explore Claudia’s adult desireswith more leniency. As Claudia grew, she became dissatisfied with the youth of her body. The show managed to explore that just as well without having Claudia as young as five.
An older character benefitted the show’s themes and script, whilean older actress was also a benefit to the show. Having a 14-year-old Claudia enabled an adult actress for the part, which was probably essential. It may have been hard for someone younger to deal with the kind of subject matter being explored in the script.
3The Show Adapts The Book And Adds Sequel Content
The Show Is A Sequel To The Book
The show is very much an adaptation ofInterview with the Vampire, but is also a sequel to it, in many ways.The show accepts most of the events of Anne Rice’s novel as canon while significantly embellishing themwith further detail and delaying their ending. In the timeline of Anne Rice’s books, Armand and Louis broke up, and not too long after, Louis ran into Daniel in a bar and took him home, where he was interviewed by him. Daniel recorded and published the interview as a book after the events of the first novel and before the events of the second, which was set in the ’80s.
In leaving the interview’s publication and Armand and Louis' breakup till 2022, the show gives the characters 50 more years to mature before tackling these key events.
In the show, the events of the book all occurred about 50 years ago, except Armand and Louis stayed together the whole time and Daniel never published the interview in the ’70s, never triggering the subsequent events of the books. This makes the show feel just as much like a sequel as an adaptation. In leaving the interview’s publication and Armand and Louis' breakup till 2022,the show gives the characters 50 more years to mature before tackling these key events.
2Armand Erased Daniel and Louis' Memories In The Show
Louis Was Solving A Mystery In The Show
Louis and Daniel spentInterview with the Vampireseasons 1 and 2 unraveling the mystery that was both of their inconsistent memories of events of their 1973 encounter. This was down to an invention of the show - Armand having adjusted both of their memories.Armand’s memory wipes were an embellishment of his actions in the novelbut captured his lying spirit to a tee.
I’m So Glad Interview With The Vampire Season 3 Isn’t Completely Changing Armand & Daniel’s Book Story
Interview with the Vampire season 3 is set to deepen the relationship between Assad Zaman’s Armand and Eric Bogosian’s Daniel, and I can’t wait.
It is a testament to Assad Zaman’s performance and the watertight writing of the show thatArmand was as sympathetic as he was throughout Anne Rice’s entire book series over just two seasons of the show, despite his obvious villainy. Armand’s memory wipes were the foundation of the crime thriller spin that the show put on Anne Rice’s story, necessitating Daniel,the shadowy Talamasca, and Louis to team up to uncover the truth of what had happened in San Francisco.
1Lestat And Louis Were Officially A Couple In The Show
The Book Only Implied Affection Between Lestat And Louis
Anne Rice’s 1976 novel implied affection betweenthe tenacious Lestat de Lioncourtand the tortured Louis, despite Louis' primary sentiments toward Lestat being resentment, frustration, and pity.The novel’s homoerotic undertones played on a rich tradition in vampire fictionbut didn’t take any of the novel’s companionships to an explicitly queer place. Louis said of Lestat in the novel, “I wanted to forget him, and yet it seemed I thought of him always,” suggesting a long-term obsession.
Louis' obsession could have been platonic, or perhaps survivor’s guilt, but later books in theInterview with the Vampireseries confirmed that the two had been dancing around a serious relationship for a long time. InMerrick, Lestat “pressed [his] lips to [Louis'] and… held this kiss for a long silent moment” before declaring his love, to which Louis replied, “My heart is yours.“The AMC+ show makes Louis and Lestat’s complicated love-hate relationship in book one explicitly romanticand also sexual, whereas Anne Rice didn’t pin down the possibility of sexual intercourse between vampires until late in her book series.
Interview with the Vampire
Cast
Based on Anne Rice’s novel series that began in 1976, Interview with the Vampire is a gothic horror fantasy series that explores the life of Louis de Pointe du Lac through an interview with a journalist. Told through flashbacks of Louis' life during the interview, the series examines Louis' relationship with the vampire that turned him, Lestat de Lioncourt, and a teenage girl named Claudia, whom he turns. The series is the first of Anne Rice’s Immortal Universe media franchise.
