‘The Vampire Lestat’ Is A Beautifully Brutal Tour De Force

BusinessMedia‘The Vampire Lestat’ Is A Beautifully Brutal Tour De ForceBySabrina Reed,Contributor.Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights. Sabrina Reed is a journalist who covers Hollywood and the TV industry.Follow AuthorJun 03, 2026, 12:23pm EDT--:-- / --:--This voice experience is generated by AI. Learn more.This voice experience is generated by AI. Learn more.Sam Reid as Lestat de Lioncourt in The Vampire LestatSophie Giraud/AMCThe most resonate word to describe the journey The Vampire Lestat takes we, the beautifully unwell, on—over the course of the six episodes available to review—is fearless. Interview with the Vampire’s third season, bearing a new name and Lestat’s (Sam Reid) point of view, is the bravest show you’ll watch this year. In that regard, it follows in the footsteps of its two proceeding seasons while charting its own path.It was a risk to go for the same hat trick Anne Rice pulled in her Vampire Chronicles books after the show’s audience has spent four years attuned to Louis’ (Jacob Anderson) voice and perspective. But it’s one that pays off in dividends.Gone is the sprawling period drama that traverses the 20th century as Louis pieces together the fragments of his memory while self-contained in a modern, minimalist, staid abode in present-day Dubai. In its place is a raucous pleasure den tour bus that goes from venue to venue across North America as Lestat has a mental breakdown and is forced to reckon with his past. That’s not an easy transition even with the connective tissue of what came before.This season does not feel effortless, it feels earned. There is a difference between following a narrative change born from the books and stepping fully into a perspective shift whilst embracing what that means for the story and its audience. But if you’re going to follow Lestat down the Devil’s road, you must be prepared to question everything you think you know about Lestat, Louis, Claudia (Delainey Hayles), Armand (Assa...