Old School. Biblically Independent.
By Kaleena Rivera | TV | October 11, 2025
Interview With The Vampire fans are winning this month. Season two, in all of its gloriousness, has begun streaming on Netflix, a gift for fans who don't subscribe to AMC+, and just in time for spooky season, too. This alone would be enough to justify this headline, but then the vampire gods saw fit to rain down additional blessings, thanks to Friday night's IWTV panel at New York Comic Con featuring cast members Sam Reid, Jacob Anderson, Eric Bogosian, and Assad Zaman, along with cast newcomer Jennifer Ehle(!) and executive producers Mark Johnson and Hannah Moscovitch, discussing the heavily anticipated third season titled, The Vampire Lestat.
The third season will focus on Lestat's (Reid) perspective as he ascends to fame as a rock star with Daniel Molloy (Bogosian) hot on his heels, along with a host of vamps from his past. Quite frankly, I would have been happy with the panel soundbites alone, particularly with Bogosian and Zaman describing the evolving relationship between Daniel and Armand (Zaman), who diehard fans know becomes rather, erm, complicated over time:
Assad and Eric talk about Armand and Daniel's dynamic going into season 3 at #NYCC ! pic.twitter.com/pQuVNoil6P
— Interview with the Vampire Updates (@iwtvupdates) October 10, 2025
Bogosian: "You know when a little kid has a stuffed animal when they're very small, and they just drag it around for years and years, and it only has one eye after a while, and it's all torn up? That's his approach to Daniel." Zaman: "It's tattered, it's broken, but it's mine."
Oh, dear.
Beyond the delightful cast discussion, there was big news on the casting front. News of Ehle portraying Lestat's mother, Gabrielle, has been known for quite some time now, but arguably the biggest question has been is who's going to play Queen Akasha, the first vampire in existence who, in the novel, is awoken from her long slumber by Lestat's music. At long last, we have our answer:
Laurence Olivier award winner Sheila Atim is a familiar face for anyone who saw The Underground Railroad or The Woman King (if you haven't seen this movie, you really should), among a number of other film and theatrical productions. Since she was first depicted by the singer Aaliyah (RIP) in 1994's Queen of the Damned, Akasha has become a beloved figure among Black fans of horror fiction and seeing that enjoyment be carried over into the updated world of the tv adaptation is gratifying news, to say nothing of Atim's acting prowess.
If that wasn't enough, AMC granted us all an extended trailer of The Vampire Lestat, which can only be seen to be believed:
The tone is pitch perfect. Not only are we getting Akasha, but the music's great, and we're getting vampire divorce on top of it ("Very specific detail to pluck out of thin air!")? This season can't come fast enough.
Alas, we must wait until sometime next year for it to air on AMC. To keep us busy, we can watch the next entry into the expanding Immortal Universe with this month's premiere of Talamasca: The Secret Order, which will revolve around the secret agency that monitors the world's supernatural goings-on. Prepare for a familiar face or two to make an appearance:
Talamasca stars Nicholas Denton, Elizabeth McGovern, William Fichtner, and Jason Schwartzman and is, according to producer Mark Johnson, "kind of a spy show, almost a John le Carré with elements of the supernatural in it" (via Deadline). I'm game.
The first two seasons of Interview With The Vampire are available to stream on Netflix, and The Vampire Lestat will premiere on AMC/AMC+ in 2026.
Talamasca: The Secret Order will premiere on AMC/AMC+ on Sunday, October 26th.
Kaleena Rivera is the TV Editor for Pajiba.
