Anne Rice was a popular supernatural writer whose novels have been adapted into two series, with another on the way. The shared universe has just made its first crossover that could lead to a bigger intertwined story.
Interview with the Vampire was the first adaptation in the Immortal Universe, which premiered in 2022 to critical acclaim. The series will return with Season 3, which will cover the second book in The Vampire Chronicles series, The Vampire Lestat. The second series is Mayfair Witches, which premiered in 2023 and is currently in its second season, which has also introduced the first mini crossover in Season 2, Episode 3, “Cover of Mirrors.” In a behind-the-scenes video for the episode on AMC+, showrunner Esta Spalding explained that this could lead to a “real amazing monster universe.”
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Mayfair Witches star Tongayi Chirisa hints that the upcoming Season 2 sets the stage for a future crossover with Interview with the Vampire.
While there have been hints that the characters between the two shows might be aware of each other’s existence, there hasn’t been an official crossover until now. Mayfair Witches‘ episode that aired on Sunday featured Gabriel Freilich’s Felix from Interview with the Vampire, a vampire who caught rats for Sam Reid’s Lestat. In the new episode, he had a chat with Lasher about living in the shadows. There are more coincidences, as the scene takes place in a location in New Orleans shown in Interview with the Vampire.
I wanted to give the audience some kind of connection to the whole Anne Rice universe and to Interview With the Vampire.
“The scene with Lasher and Felix really came out of a story instinct that Lasher needs to meet another kind of magical being as a means to understand himself,” Spalding explains in the official making-of video.
“And then there was just that feeling that I wanted to give the audience some kind of connection to the whole Anne Rice universe and to Interview With the Vampire. So I went to [Interview with the Vampire showrunner] Rolin Jones and said, ‘What could we steal from your world that would be an overlap? Is there a vampire who could talk to Lasher?’ There’s a character in their world, and he’s a student of Lestat.”
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“It shows that this can turn into a real amazing monster universe, bringing over those crossovers with the vampires and the witches and Lasher, whatever the hell he is,” Huston added.
The Crossover Further Fleshed Out the Immortal Universe
Freilich’s character in Interview with the Vampire was known as the “pale young vamp” in the original show, but Mayfair Witches decided to give him a name and further explore his story. Speaking about the crossover with TVInsider, Spalding further detailed the crossover idea.
“We wanted a vampire who was in New Orleans, and we wanted somebody who connected to Interview and carried some of the mythology of Interview,” the showrunner explained. “And it was just a conversation with Rolin [Jones] about how that would work. And then looking at the [Felix] scenes, I think they had just finished shooting them when we were working on this idea. I can’t remember the timing, but he was called Pale Young Vamp in their show. And so we gave him a name and so on. But the idea was that he was Lestat’s student and we could see the fun.”
“It’s not just a cameo, it is not just an Easter egg of a guy, but it’s actually somebody bringing Lestat’s worldview into our show and trying it out with Lasher,” Spalding highlighted. “And that felt interesting and significant. Of course, it doesn’t stick. That’s not what kind of being [Lasher] is, but it was really fun to try out.“
Speaking about what might come in the Immortal Universe, Spalding continued. “You don’t want to give away the juicy stuff too early. It has to be earned. Yes, I keep thinking, ‘When can we talk about Rowan and Lestat?’ But it needs to build.” In 2025, the universe will further grow with The Talamasca series, which might have more opportunities for crossovers.
Mayfair Witches airs new episodes on Sunday on AMC and AMC+.
Source: Entertainment Weekly, TVInsider
- Release Date
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January 7, 2023
- Creator(s)
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Esta Spalding
, Michelle Ashford - Cast
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Alexandra Daddario
, Tongayi Chirisa
, Jack Huston
, Harry Hamlin
, Hannah Alline
, Beth Grant
, Annabeth Gish
, Ravi Naidu
, Jen Richards
, Ian Hoch
, Geraldine Singer
, Emma Rose Smith
, Charlayne Woodard
, Suleka Mathew
, Deneen Tyler
, Melissa Chambers
, Nadine Lewington
, Jay Howard Thames
, Keyara Milliner
, Dennis Boutsikaris
, Madison Wolfe
, Leslie Castay
, Erica Gimpel
, Tobias Jelinek
, Cameron Inman
, Billy Slaughter
, Jim Gleason
, Robert Aberdeen
, Joshua Mikel
, Jessie Terrebonne
, Chris Coy - Franchise
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Immortal Universe
- Distributor
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AMC+
