AMC Networks and Fender Team Up on Capsule Collection of Custom Stratocaster Guitars to Be Featured in New Season of the Critically Acclaimed Series “Anne Rice’s Interview with the Vampire”

Today at Comic-Con International, AMC Networks unveiled a collaboration with Fender Musical Instruments Corp., Fender, the world’s leading guitar manufacturer. Building on Fender’s legacy of innovation and history of modification, a capsule collection of four customized Player II Modified Stratocaster® guitars to be featured in the new season of Anne Rice’s Interview with the Vampire – titled Anne Rice’s The Vampire Lestat. “The LeStrat” collection – a playful nod to Fender’s iconic Stratocaster® – will go on tour with vampire and rockstar Lestat (Sam Reid) and be played throughout the music-themed season, returning next year. The partnership was announced with the first custom guitar in the collection, “LeStrat: Petit Coup,” on display during the series’ Ballroom 20 panel at Comic-Con, during which Composer Daniel Hart surprised attendees with a surprise musical performance of the series’ original song, “The Loneliness,” which he composed for the upcoming season.

The custom guitars were designed and modified by Fender’s expert team along with series Production Designer Andres Cubillan. Each guitar in the collection will have a distinct design aesthetic, visually building on the previous model and – in true vampire fashion – become bloodier as the season progresses, culminating in the reveal of the hand-painted fourth guitar in the season finale.

Said Hart: “I’ve been playing my American Tele® through a ’65 Deluxe Reverb® since I was 21 years old. Fender has been a part of my music and my life ever since, and I’m excited to see what they’ve cooked up for our Rock’n’Roll Vampire.”

At Comic-Con, the “LeStrat: Petit Coup” was also on hand at the Anne Rice Immortal Universe press conference immediately following the panel where guests received custom Vampire Lestat Fender guitar picks to commemorate the collaboration. In addition to Reid and Hart, the show’s Comic-Con panel, previewing the new season, was attended by cast members Jacob Anderson and Eric Bogosian, along with Executive Producer Mark Johnson, who oversees the Anne Rice Immortal Universe for AMC Networks, and Showrunner and Executive Producer Rolin Jones.

Anne Rice’s The Vampire Lestat began production last month in Toronto. The show holds the rare distinction of earning a 98% on Rotten Tomatoes in its first two seasons and recently received two Primetime Emmy nominations for Outstanding Period or Fantasy/Sci-Fi Hairstyling and Outstanding Period or Fantasy/Sci-Fi Makeup (Non-Prosthetic), a Critics Choice Award for Best Drama and TCA Awards for Outstanding Achievement in Drama and Individual Achievement in Drama (Anderson), among other accolades. The series is executive produced by award-winning producer Johnson, creator, writer, and showrunner Jones, Hannah Moscovitch, along with Christopher Rice and the late Anne Rice.