The acquisition encompasses all 18 titles in Rice’s long-running Vampire Chronicles and Mayfair Witches series of books. “Interview,” published in 1976, will be the first tome to be turned into a proper show. The first season will be comprised of 8-episodes to air on both AMC network and their exclusive AMC+ service next year. Mark Johnson (“Breaking Bad,” “Better Call Saul,” “Halt and Catch Fire,” “Rectify”) is leading development on the new show as well as executive producing. Rolin Jones (“Perry Mason,” “Friday Night Lights”), will serve as creator, showrunner and executive producer of “Interview.” Anne and Christopher Rice are non-writing executive producers.
The novel, following a newly-made vampire and his interactions with others of his ilk, particularly the duplicitous vampire Lestat, was adapted to film in 1994 with Brad Pitt, Tom Cruise, and Antonio Banderas in the cast. The series saw another adaptation, “Queen of the Damned,” starring the late singer Aaliyah, released in 2002. Since the last feature there’s been much talk about adapting the franchise again. Way back in 2016 Universal was planning a filmic reboot of “Interview” with “Fault in Our Stars” director Josh Boone at the helm. Actor Jared Leto was considered a frontrunner at the time for Lestat. It’s unclear why that project never came to fruition, though it’s safe to say this series might prohibit a feature anytime soon. “In 1973, a grieving mother and extraordinary writer began what would become the finest Vampire novel ever written (all respects to Mr. Stoker),” Jones said in a statement. “Nearly 50 years later we know what’s expected of us. We know how much this book and the ones that follow mean to their massive fan base. We feel you over our shoulders as we tend the Savage Garden. Louis and Lestat are coming out of hiding and we can’t wait to re-unite them with you.” AMC Networks holds the comprehensive rights for this world renowned and globally coveted intellectual property to develop for its own television networks and streaming services under the AMC Studios umbrella, as well as external partner licensing, with Anne Rice and son Christopher Rice serving as executive producers on all series and films. Together, “The Vampire Chronicles” and “The Lives of the Mayfair” series have sold more than 150 million copies worldwide. “Interview with the Vampire” premieres on AMC sometime in 2022. Sign Up: Stay on top of the latest breaking film and TV news! Sign up for our Email Newsletters here.
