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Is Interview with the Vampire the best show of 2022? Without beating around the bush, let us address the hyperbole in the title.
Five episodes into the series, this reviewer is tempted to assert that it does indeed belong in the conversation in the same league as the latest season of The Boys and the final season of Better Call Saul, an unheralded masterpiece.
Of course, it's all a matter of taste. Some may satiate their fantasy bloodthirst through more conventional offerings such as the excellent House of the Dragon or the visually opulent Rings of Power. But, for those willing to sink their fangs into meatier, more unorthodox storytelling, Interview with the Vampire from AMC may be a feast for the senses.
Indeed, this reviewer could not stop watching once he began indulging in the previews, even though three of the five episodes were not even in their final form. Maybe, it was the captivating power of the immortal, hellish beings. Maybe, it was the assurance that AMC is invested in making the show their next big offering.
Either way, the power of Anne Rice's storytelling, coupled with Rolin Jones' vision, has made this show a masterpiece.
Interview with the Vampire: A timeless tale reimagined for 2022
Interview with the Vampire is a familiar story that has been reimagined for 2022, and that is always a tricky affair. Jacob Anderson as Louis de Pointe du Lac looks nothing like Brad Pitt. Racism becomes a driving force in the plot, one of the central challenges du Lac faces as a black man.
That said, Interview with the Vampire is not a lesson in social commentary or the evils of racism. It deals with the age-old question of what happens when you are an immortal being living in a world of mortals, walking among them as killers, preying on them in the darkness.
Of course, there is a nod to the events of the movie as well, with the series picking up almost five decades later in Dubai.
Interview with The Vampire plot - Daniel Molloy gets a letter from du Lac
Daniel Molloy, now played by Eric Bogosian (Billions, Succession), receives a letter from Louis de Pointe du Lac (Jacob Anderson of Game of Thrones fame), and then travels halfway across the world in the middle of a pandemic with an autoimmune disease.
What follows is very much in the spirit of the original movie, with quite a few unique twists. Interview with the Vampire never lets up - there are no filler moments, only killer ones. The suspense is so great in certain episodes that it kept the reviewer awake until the sun came up, an hour when vampires must retire.
Sam Reid, who plays Lestat de Lioncourt, steals the show with Anderson, and their relationship is allowed to be more intimate than the film permitted. Interview with the Vampire is bold, and it breaks new boundaries quite fearlessly without venturing into the territory of being preachy.
There's every chance that the show could go downhill after the fifth episode, as so many others have, but it's simply spectacular thus far.
The show will debut on Sunday, October 2, at 10pm ET/9c on AMC, immediately following The Walking Dead. The first two episodes will become available on AMC+ that same night.
