Released under its new title “The Vampire Lestat” to reflect the source material change, the third season of AMC’s “Interview With the Vampire” is pulling in some of the best critical review scores seen for a TV series this decade.
With 17 reviews counted on Rotten Tomatoes, the title is holding a perfect 100% score with more specific 4.5/5 and 5/5 scores from individual reviewers all high praising its daring structure and the fearlessness of showrunner Rollin Jones.
On Metacritic it stands at 90/100 – charting just ahead of the 89/100 for the second season. That puts it up there with “The Pitt” (92) and “Adolescence” (91) as one of the best scores seen for television in recent years.
The new season will adapt the second book in Rice’s series, which shifts the focus to Sam Reid’s Lestat as he becomes a rock star. Like previous seasons, it will deal with an unreliable narrator – even more so this time. Here’s a sampling of reviews which covered the first six of seven episodes for the new run:
“Still, this is a striking and nervy piece of work that goes there over and over again. Jones has proven that he could steer this show through the novels’ more unhinged deviations and make it gripping.” – Kayleigh Donaldson, The Wrap
“Interview had a sense of humor about its high drama, but this season sometimes plays like a full-on comedy… This marvelously fun shift in tone more than justifies the title change. Yet as the season progresses, the new episodes feel increasingly in sync with Interview and… becomes, like its predecessor, an empathetic portrait of an immortal monster with human psychology.” – Judy Berman, TIME
“The Vampire Lestat is unlike anything else on TV right now… [it] is not a simple watch, if that’s what you’re looking for – instead, it’s a revelatory meditation on some of the most intense possible themes, dressed up in sultry crooning, sweat, and glitter with an edge sharp enough to slice right into you. [It] may not offer a conventional season of TV, but it challenges you to keep up.” – Rotem Rusak, Nerdist
“Fans might be tuning in to see a sexy Lestat strut as a rock star, argue with his on-again-off-again exes, and be a Brat Prince in full. Jones will deliver there, those with a sleazy layer of grit that keeps the show from losing its edge. Then, he’ll go harder and deeper, unearthing subplots savage, sumptuous, and absolutely addictive… Nothing from the books prepared me for what Jones does here.” – Kristy Puchko, Mashable
“Blowing up the narrative in the absolute best way possible… Pivoting sharply in tone, visual style, and content as it recenters its story around the titular Lestat de Lioncourt… [it[ allows for a near-perfect blend of the franchise’s signature bombastic camp and quiet, unexpected emotional depth.” – Lacy Baugher, Den of Geek
“Forego all your expectations of tonal continuity. The show is utterly unparalleled, for lack of a better term, sui generis, and strong enough to be in a class of its own. The only thing the show has in common with its predecessor is that the titular vampire is narrating his life story, although through and for different media.” – Federica Bocco, Winter is Coming
“Sure, gothic horror is up front, but what makes “The Vampire Lestat” work so well is that while it takes its characters and their relationships seriously, it also acknowledges the absurdity of it all.” – Rob Owen, Pitsburgh Tribune-Review
“The Vampire Lestat remains one of the best shows on television thanks to its firmly established tone and purpose. Here is a show equally capable of heartbreak as it is at over-the-top gore… It’s the perfect blend of crazy thrills and moving depths, the kind of adaptation that takes its source and its genre seriously by reminding you that as messed up as all these characters are, they’re a blast to watch.” – Devan Suber, Awards Watch
“The Vampire Lestat is everything you could want and then some. It’s a moving meditation on fame, fandom, and legacy that pushes its characters and relationships to their most satisfying places yet… It’s all too appropriate that a season that functions as a sweeping ode to failure is genuinely one of the year’s most perfect pieces of television, horror or otherwise.” – Daniel Kurland, Bloody Disgusting
A new featurette for the season is also out below. The new season launches on AMC this Sunday, June 7th.
