Netflix’s 2-Part Vampire Thriller Is One of the Best on Any Streaming Platform

Published Aug 29, 2026, 7:47 AM EDT Shawn Van Horn is a Senior Author for Collider. He's watched way too many slasher movies over the decades, which makes him an aficionado on all things Halloween and Friday the 13th. Don't ask him to choose between Michael Myers and Jason Voorhees because he can't do it. He grew up in the 90s, when Seinfeld, Everybody Loves Raymond, and TGIF were his life, and still watches them religiously to this day. Larry David is his spirit animal. His love for entertainment spreads to the written word as well. He has written two novels and is neck deep in the querying trenches. He is also a short story maker upper and poet with a dozen publishing credits to his name. He lives in small town Ohio, where he likes to watch professional wrestling and movies. Whether it be the big screen or the small screen, audiences can never get enough of vampires. In the last decade, the immortals could be found in shows like The Originals, Castlevania, Midnight Mass, and What We Do in the Shadows. Anne Rice's 1976 novel Interview with the Vampire has already been adapted once with the 1994 film starring Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt, but in 2022, AMC's new spin, with Jacob Anderson and Sam Reid cast in the leading roles, resulted in one of the best and most compelling vampire shows out there. If you missed it the first time around, or if you're craving a rewatch, it's waiting for you now on Netflix. AMC's 'Interview with the Vampire' Expands Louis and Lestat's Relationship The Interview with the Vampire movie was largely well received, but a two-hour runtime could only allow for so much of Rice's novel to make it to the screen. The best thing AMC's Interview with the Vampire has going for it is that it has more time to expand storylines and truly dig into the characters with several seasons of exploration. Interview with the Vampire is a love story, after all, and viewers need to spend time with the tortured souls at the center of the drama to truly be invested in and understand them. AMC's Interview with the Vampire takes the building blocks of Rice's novel and then builds around them by going in its own direction. What fans want most is still at the bloody heart of it all, with excellent performances from Anderson and Reid. Louis de Pointe du Lac and Lestat de Lioncourt are fully formed characters with palpable inner pain, vulnerability, and an unhealthy passion for each other that's as powerful as the insatiable urge for blood. While the show's horror is intense and often gory, it's the intense bond between Louis and Lestat that drives the series. Their toxic relationship is equally fraught with passion and betrayal, and the show introduces the moral complication of rooting for two vampires who not only kill to survive but repeatedly hurt each other. In Season 1, the story is told through Louis' perspective, but just when the viewer thinks they have it all figured out, Season 2 delivers a twist that completely upends everything they've learned so far. What comes after demonstrates that Lestat is not wholly who we've been led to believe he is, but it turns out he's not the only character who has more layers to peel back. 'Interview with the Vampire's Supporting Characters Steal the Show So much contributes to the overall success of AMC's Interview with the Vampire adaptation. The sets, especially the details of Season 1's New Orleans, are stunning in their design. The cinematography, as well as the score by Daniel Hart, is on par with the 1994 film, if not superior. Yet this is a deeply character-driven story, one with supporting members of the cast who are just as fascinating as the two immortals leading the show. Eric Bogosian is the viewer's way in as Daniel Molloy, the human journalist who is so much more than a plot device. While Molloy previously interviewed Louis decades earlier, that encounter ended violently, and there's no telling what will happen this time around. Standing at Louis' side from the beginning is his assistant Rashid, played with quiet restraint by Assad Zaman, who the series ultimately confirms is so much more than what he's pretending to be. Soon enough, he'll be the one to drive the plot forward. Last, but certainly not least, is Claudia, the dying young woman whom Lestat turns into a vampire to save her life. Whether she's played by Bailey Bass or Delainey Hayles, Claudia steals every scene she's in. She's no wilting flower, but a force of nature unafraid to speak her mind. Interview with the Vampire was such a hit with viewers that the story continued in Season 3, retitled The Vampire Lestat, and has been confirmed to return for Season 4, called Queen of the Damned. The first two seasons, now available to stream on Netflix, remain the pinnacle of the series so far, and among the best works of vampire fiction you'll ever find. Romance, horror, drama, and a plethora of shocking twists and turns are perfect for the format. While the 1994 film tried to tell Rice's powerful story in only two hours, series creator Rolin Jones knew it would take two full seasons, and even after wrapping up Interview with the Vampire, the show has proven it's only just getting started.