The best fantasy series of the year is still far too unknown after 2 seasons: Let’s change that!

Do you know what it’s like when you feel really lonely with an absolutely correct opinion? That’s how I feel right now, because while most series fans are in House of the Dragon fever, I’m trying to spread the good news of a even better bloody fantasy series to spread.

We’re talking about the remake of the literary horror classic Interview with the Vampire by Goth goddess Anne Rice. A must-see not only for fans of scary entertainment and genre gays, but also for all series junkies with good taste.

For two incredible seasons, showrunner Rolin Jones and his team have delivered a Master class in sophisticated adaptation which has nothing to hide from celebrated adaptations such as The Last of Us or prestige dramas such as Succession. Fans of the Hannibal series in particular, which thrilled audiences with the murder-husband machinations of Dr. Lecter and Will Graham, should not miss out on the bloodthirsty melodramas of the bloodsuckers.

Interview with the Vampire: The perfect fantasy adaptation that doesn’t stick to the original

While the successful film version Interview with the Vampire from 1994, with a screenplay by Rice herself, stayed very close to the novel, the new series takes some liberties. Exactly as a self-confident adaptation should do in the best case. However, not to be different or more progressive at all costs, but because the US broadcaster AMC the rights to all novels from the comprehensive Chronicle of Vampires acquired and one works with overall foresight.

As in every version, the vampire Louis de Pointe de Lac is interviewed – this time in the form of Game of Thrones star Jacob Anderson. This is where the series’ first stroke of genius comes into play: We are in the present day and the immortal invites the now aging reporter Daniel Molloy (Eric Bogosian) to Dubai for a second attempt at an interview. The first (canonical) interview in San Francisco in the 1970s did not end well for anyone involved.

Louis tells how, as a brothel owner in New Orleans in 1910, he met the charming Frenchman Lestat de Liouncourt. The fact that he wanted him as a companion and that Louis can hardly resist his dark reputation is extremely believable thanks to the cast alone: ​​Anderson proves with impressive range how wasted he was as the monotonous grey worm in GoT, and Sam Reid as Lestat is nothing less than an acting revelation that more than does justice to Anne Rice’s larger-than-life favorite character.

That the same-sex relationship between the interviewed vampire and his monstrous maker in first novel (and film) buried in the subtext In retrospect, the reason for the first narrator’s success lies in the later novels in the series, in which his flamboyant creator is the main protagonist, Rice was just as explicit in them as the series is today.

The vampire as a metaphor for outsidership and otherness

The queer metaphor is obvious: Lestat offers Louis the “dark gift”, which he allows himself to be seduced by with little resistance, but continues to try to pass as a normal person and resists his murderous nature. His creator, on the other hand, stands by his nature, even feels something like vampire pride and feels insulted that Louis rejects this core aspect of him. The “good homo” who doesn’t want to stand out or offend the majority of society vs. the pride flag-waving gay man who is at peace with himself?

Anne Rice always referred to her homoerotic vampires as “perfect metaphor for outsiders”In the case of the series, the Changing Louis’ ethnicity This adds another level of “othering.” As a black man in the United States under Jim Crow laws, he automatically experiences marginalization, which is multiplied by his queerness – this is exactly what academic activists mean when they talk about intersectionality.

His vampire nature not only makes Lous the ultimate outsider, but is also a Opportunity for empowerment. Finally, the thirst for blood brings with it one or two supernatural abilities. The fact that this empowerment takes place through a white vampire daddy can of course be seen as problematic, something that the snarky reporter Molloy does not fail to notice. In moments like these, you feel incredibly well looked after in Interview with the Vampire, because those responsible are clearly aware of the complicated implications of their multi-layered narrative.

At the same time, we never forget that this is a bloodthirsty horror story about monsters that serves us the worst aspects of our human existence and the most toxic relationship constellations with blood sauce. Bad gays doing bad shitBut that’s exactly what makes Interview with the Vampire so emotionally honest, sometimes borderline, very often heartbreaking and so goddamn juicy that you want to feast on it like a fruit bat at a basket of fruit.

The Odyssey of Recollection: Memories as Monsters

The first two seasons of Interview with the Vampire cover the first book of the Vampire Chronicles with that title. In the course of the story, Louis and Lestat create their vampire daughter Claudia (first the very good Bailey Bass, then the even better Delainey Hayles), who one day wants to free herself and her daddy Lou from the clutches of Uncle Les.

But it doesn’t take long for the experienced journalist Daniel to notice some inconsistencies. Not only what Plot Holes in Louis Biography but because today’s interview sounds completely different to the conversation in the 70s. How reliable Louis is as a narrator and how subjectively colored his story is remains a constant question that hangs uncomfortably over the journalistic endeavor. With additional perspectives, the series sometimes becomes Rashomon with bloodsuckers.

As if that wasn’t confusing enough, just before the second act another main character is revealed, who fans of the novel series know for lots of DRAMA and telepathic manipulation skills. But that’s not the only reason why the motto of the second season is “Memory is the monster”. It’s also about coming to terms with your own past and the stories we tell ourselves about ourselves in order to get through the day and night. “Are we the sum of our worst memories?”

Because of all these qualities, the second season of Interview with the Vampire recently made it into our list of the 20 best series of the first half of 2024. But we are not the only ones: On Metacritic, the bloodsuckers have a score of 82, and on Rotten Tomatoes they even have a whopping 98 percent.

Here is the Comic-Con trailer for the series:

Where can you watch Interview with the Vampire on stream?

I could spend an insane number of paragraphs raving about the opulent sets, the gorgeous costumes, the breathtaking settings of New Orleans, Dubai and Paris, the magnificently nasty gore effects and, above all, the priceless chemistry between Louis actor Jacob Anderson and his co-star Sam Reid (aka Jam Reiderson). Instead, I recommend that you take a look at the series yourself to get a taste of blood, literally.

The result, consisting of 2 seasons and 15 episodes, speaks for itself and is MagentaTV And the best part: Shortly before the second season finale, it was confirmed last week that there will be a third season, which will tackle the sequel novels The Prince of Darkness and The Queen of the Damned. So we fans don’t have to do without rock star Lestat or OG vampire Akasha.

Until then, the series will also be released on Netflix (at least in the US), so that the vampires that have so far flown under the radar will hopefully receive a little more well-deserved attention until the relevant Emmy Awards.