The Vampire Lestat finally arrives in the UK later this month, with stars Sam Reid and Jacob Anderson teasing to Radio Times how it will evolve the show’s central romance.
Formerly known as Interview with the Vampire (for its first two seasons), the hit fantasy drama draws inspiration from Anne Rice’s celebrated novels.
We have watched Louis de Pointe du Lac (Anderson) be turned into a vampire by Lestat de Lioncourt (Reid), with whom he experiences an intense and, at times, toxic relationship.
After two seasons as the point-of-view character, this third chapter shifts perspective to that of Lestat (as the retitle suggests), dropping in on him during a glam rock phase in the 1980s.
The role of Louis has been expanded from Rice’s novel of the same name to protect what Reid describes to Radio Times as “one of the core relationships of this show”.
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As for where this volatile duo will find themselves by the end of the season, Anderson teased: “They’re going to end up in a very different place to where they started. I can definitely, like, I can guarantee that.
“Also, this season, I think, Louis and Lestat end up in a new sort of zone with each other… some new things happen in their relationship [which] open up more possibilities.”
Where the first season kept the on-again off-again couple together in their claustrophobic New Orleans apartment, the second split them up for a story following Louis in Paris, post-World War II.
Without spoiling too much, the instalment ended in a startling revelation about their relationship, which reverberates strongly in the present day. Reid reflected on the tumultuous events, concluding that Louis and Lestat “always find a way back to each other”.
Discussing season 3, he continued: “You’re gonna go through a process of rooting for them, not rooting for them, rooting for them again – and they do the same. Nothing comes easy… you’d be bored [if it did].
“I feel like audiences sometimes have to yearn for something. You’ve got to feel that equal, vampiric yearning. You need to know what you’re missing.”
Alas, it’s not yet clear whether the yearning will continue in a fourth season, but Rice’s Vampire Chronicles universe extends much further than we’ve seen so far. Here’s hoping more of it gets the screen treatment from this stellar creative team.
Previously, Anderson had hinted that The Vampire Lestat would show his character to be an unreliable, or at least biased, narrator, as it explores a conflicting account to that which he disclosed to journalist Daniel Molloy (Eric Bogosian).
The Game of Thrones alum told Den of Geek: “It’s such a deeply subjective show. It’s so deeply inside somebody’s mind and experience. That’s also part of the fun. You get to play a slightly different version of the character each time they appear, more or less.”
The Vampire Lestat premieres on Tuesday 28 July at 9pm on BBC Two and iPlayer.
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