Trib Total Media TV writer Rob Owen offers a viewing tip for the coming week.
It’s a shame that conventional wisdom suggests AMC is a sub-scale media company that’s unlikely to make it in the long run as the streaming wars grind on and media companies continue to consume one another (see: Skydance buys Paramount, now Skydance-Paramount is on the brink of acquiring Warner Bros.).
All the way back to its now-forgotten, pre-“Mad Men” era when the network put on the sweet, smart, soapy ‘40s comedic drama “Remember WENN,” AMC has always punched above its weight when it comes to distinctive, original quality programming. That was especially true in the “Breaking Bad” era.
Although the other Anne Rice Immortal Universe series generally disappoints, there’s no denying that AMC’s “Interview with the Vampire” series proved leaps and bounds superior to the 1994 Tom Cruise-Brad Pitt movie.
The show’s third season, now under the title “The Vampire Lestat” (9 p.m. June 7, AMC, AMC ), moves on to the next book in Rice’s series.
Season two featuredless of Lestat (Sam Reid) with a greater focus on Louis (Jacob Anderson) and Armand (Assad Zaman), but ended with Louis and Armand parting ways, interviewer Daniel Malloy (Eric Bogosian) getting turned into a vampire and Louis and Lestat reconciling in New Orleans, grieving the death of their “daughter,” Claudia (Delainey Hayles).
Now it’s Lestat’s turn in the spotlight.
As season three begins, it’s 2025 and Lestat, in an effort to correct what he sees as inaccuracies in Malloy’s “Interview with the Vampire” book, hires Malloy to make a documentary as Lestat tours with a band he forces his way into.
By moving the setting from the 1980s in Rice’s “Vampire Lestat” novel to more contemporary times, the show can comment on this socio-political moment in American culture. As Lestat says, “Facts are irrelevant and feels are everything.” (Also: “A good nation was making itself great again.”)
As in the past two seasons, there remains significant dark humor that courses through this series. Sure, gothic horror is up front, but what makes “The Vampire Lestat” work so well is that while it takes its characters and their relationships seriously, it also acknowledges the absurdity of it all and isn’t afraid to address what the audience is thinking.
“You are being very patient involving the vampire incest factor,” Lestat says in episode two after the introduction of his mother, Gabriella (Jennifer Ehle), whose relationship with her son is … complicated.
This season flashes back to Lestat’s childhood in France, recounting the time he saw witches being burned at the stake and confronting a stutter that held sway from ages 9 to 29. There’s also an exploration of his fallen French noble family, including Lestat’s mommy issues in the past and in the present, where Lestat calls his mother Sofia, presumably so Malloy doesn’t know she’s his mom.
Through six episodes made available for review, “The Vampire Lestat” proves itself to be the show’s wildest, most risky and probably funniest season yet. Lestat and Louis even get to a place of comfortable – even playful — co-existence, which probably should be cause for alarm.
In addition to a new seven-episode season of the show, AMC has gone all-out in its promotion, releasing Lestat’s cover of Billy Idol’s “Dancing with Myself” and original tracks “All Fall Down,”“Butterscotch B*tch” and “Long Face,” staging a Reid-fronted one-night concert June 2 at New York City’s Beacon Theatre and partnering with brand Palomo for a capsule collection of clothing.
In addition, AMC ordered an after-show. Podcaster Lizzie Bassett hosts “The Vampire Lestat: After Dark,” a half-hour companion series that debuts a new episode weekly after each new “Lestat” episode. Podcast episodes stream the same day on AMC and the next day on podcast platforms (Amazon Music, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube, etc.).
“After Dark” will include interviews with the show’s stars as well as executive producer Mark Johnson and showrunner Rolin Jones. Episodes tied to the season premiere and season finale will air on linear AMC on June 7 and July 19.