AMC Networks Shares Updates on the Anne Rice Immortal Universe at ATX TV Festival

Today, at ATX TV Festival, AMC Networks presented a panel featuring executive producers from all three series within its Anne Rice Immortal Universe, giving attendees a look inside the interconnected, supernatural world of Anne Rice on AMC and AMC+, sharing production and casting updates and a first look at the newest series in the expanding Universe, Anne Rice’s Talamasca. The panel, “Vampires, Witches, and Other Secret Societies: Inside AMC’s Anne Rice’s Immortal Universe,” featured Executive Producer Mark Johnson, who oversees the Universe for AMC Networks, and Showrunners and Executive Producers Rolin Jones (Anne Rice’s Interview with the Vampire) and John Lee Hancock and Mark Lafferty (Anne Rice’s Talamasca), as well as AMC Networks’ President of Entertainment and AMC Studios, Dan McDermott.

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Lafferty and Hancock revealed first-look photos from Talamasca, which debuts this October on AMC and AMC+, and announced that Celine Buckens (Showtrial, The Ex-Wife) rounds out the series regular cast with SAG® Award-nominee Jason Schwartzman (Mountainhead, Pavements) set to guest star. Buckens stars as Doris, strong-willed and with an old soul, she lives with a coven of witches on a houseboat, while Schwartzman portrays Burton, a charming, rakish vampire, leading a cloistered life in a luxurious Upper West Side penthouse.

Buckens and Schwartzman join the previously announced ensemble of Nicholas Denton (Dangerous Liaisons, Glitch), Academy Award®, BAFTA®, Emmy® and Golden Globe®-nominee and SAG® Award-winner Elizabeth McGovern (Downton Abbey, The Wife, Ragtime, Ordinary People), SAG® Award-winner William Fichtner (The Dark Knight, Armageddon, Crash, Mom) and Maisie Richardson-Sellers (Nine Perfect Strangers, DC’s Legends of Tomorrow).

Also, on the panel, Jones announced that Interview with the Vampire is set to start production next month on its third season in Toronto, which will follow Sam Reid’s Vampire Lestat and his rock band on tour. The show holds the rare distinction of earning a 98% on Rotten Tomatoes for Seasons 1 and 2, was recently a Critic’s Choice nominee for Best Drama, and has garnered significant Emmy® Awards buzz in the Outstanding Drama, Outstanding Lead Actor (Jacob Anderson) and Outstanding Supporting Actor (Reid) categories, among others.

Johnson noted Anne Rice’s Mayfair Witches, led by Alexandra Daddario, is currently in the writers’ room for Season 3, which will be set in Salem, MA, the infamous town of witch trials and folklore, and dive deeper into the mythology of witchcraft, introduce new ‘spellbound’ families and feature some of the historical happenings of Salem.

Produced by AMC Studios, Anne Rice’s Talamasca focuses on a secretive society called the Talamasca, comprised of the men and women responsible for tracking and containing the witches, vampires, and other creatures scattered around the globe. The show is executive produced by Academy Award®-nominated Hancock (The Blind Side) and Lafferty (The Right Stuff, Halt and Catch Fire), who also serve as co-showrunners, award-winning producer Johnson, and Tom Williams along with Christopher Rice and the late Anne Rice. Hancock also directs.

Interview with the Vampire’s third season is executive produced by award-winning producer Johnson, creator, writer, and showrunner Jones, Hannah Moscovitch, along with Christopher Rice and the late Anne Rice.

Mayfair Witches Season 3 is executive produced by award-winning producer Johnson, co-showrunners Esta Spalding and Tom Schnauz, Michelle Ashford, Tom Williams, along with Christopher Rice and the late Anne Rice.

Buckens is represented by Independent Talent Group. Schwartzman is represented by Ocean Avenue, UTA and Sloane, Offer, Weber & Dern.