Gay Drama Interview With The Vampire Is Coming To ABC

The long-awaited queer television series, Interview with the Vampire has officially been released and is available for streaming online in Australia.

The gay, gothic romance television series was adapted from Anne Rice’s 1976 gothic horror novel and follows the life of vampire Louis de Pointe du Lac (Jacob Anderson) who recounts his past to journalist Daniel Molloy (Eric Bogosian). 

The seven-episode first season was developed by Rolin Jones and produced by Rice herself and her son, Christopher. It is the first series based on Rice’s Vampire Chronicles. 

The classic story has previously been adapted into a movie, starring Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt, where it was nominated for an Academy Award and won several other awards including the MTV Movie & TV Award for Best Breakthrough Performance (Kirsten Dunst), the BAFTA Award for Best Cinematography (Philippe Rousselot) and the Saturn Award for Best Costume Design (Sandy Powell). 

Series Set In The 1900s

The series is set in 1900s New Orleans and begins with Louis who owns a brothel and is tempted and made into a vampire by Lestat de Lioncourt.

The storyline follows a supernatural realm and presents a gothic horror story that explores themes including mortality, morality, and the quest for purpose amidst the complexities of the human psyche. 

The adaptation saw two major changes from the original novel and film, including casting Louis as a mixed-race character and moving the timeline of the narrative to 1910, instead of 1791, enabling a vampire, fantasy period drama with additional commentary on race and sexual liberation. 

Queer Storyline

The television series is also extremely gay, and raises the stakes, moving the film adaptation’s gay subtext into an explicitly queer storyline. In September last year, Jacob Anderson told Esquire magazine that viewers have to know that “these two people are in love. Being in love is complicated and beautiful and messy”.  

Anderson plays a businessman, who is struggling struggles to come to terms with his sexuality while enduring numerous instances of racism. In the series, his character Louis narrates, “You could be a lot of things in New Orleans. But an openly gay Negro man was not one of them”. 

As reported by Digital Spy, AMC’s original programming chief Dan McDermott released a statement discussing the series, describing the scope and breadth of the show as “just stupendous”. 

“They [showrunners Mark Johnson and Rolin Jones] have rendered the rich and vibrant world of Anne Rice’s Interview in a wonderful way, and we’re incredibly proud…This stellar cast delivers powerful performances that emotionally connect us to these characters and their humanity… This is only the beginning of an entire Universe featuring enthralling stories and characters that capture the spirit of Anne Rice’s amazing work”, McDermott said. 

Last year, AMC greenlit a second season for the TV adaptation before they aired the pilot episode. According to TV Line, season two will consist of eight episodes and be set in Europe instead of New Orleans. 

Interview with the Vampire is now available to stream on ABC iView.