AMC renews 'Interview With the Vampire' for season 4, titled 'Queen of the Damned,' at San Diego Comic-Con

Announcement at Comic-Con

AMC used its Hall H panel at San Diego Comic-Con on July 24 to confirm a fourth season of the Anne Rice vampire series. The new season will be titled "Anne Rice's Queen of the Damned," adapting the third novel in Rice's Vampire Chronicles. A teaser trailer screened for the crowd, and the Hall H audience erupted in response. The renewal comes just days after the July 19 finale of season three, which was rebranded as "The Vampire Lestat" to reflect its source material, the second book in the series.

In The Vampire Lestat, Mark, Rolin, Hannah and this extraordinary cast delivered an unforgettable season filled with propulsive storytelling that captivated the passionate and engaged fans of this franchise. We can't wait to continue the journey with Queen of the Damned, one of the most iconic stories in Anne Rice's mythology, and watch our established and beloved characters confront Akasha with their world, and ours, very much hanging in the balance.

New showrunner and creative team

Hannah Moscovitch will serve as showrunner for Queen of the Damned, stepping into the role held by series creator Rolin Jones for the first three seasons. Jones remains an executive producer alongside Mark Johnson. Moscovitch previously wrote for the first two seasons of Interview with the Vampire and was an executive producer on The Vampire Lestat, where she penned the episodes introducing Akasha and Gabriella. Her writing credits include the Governor General's Award-winning play Sexual Misconduct of the Middle Classes and the Crave TV mini-series Little Bird.

Plot and characters

Queen of the Damned centers on Akasha, the mother of all vampires, portrayed by Sheila Atim. The story traces her journey from a pre-Egyptian queen to the modern day, where she awakens with immense power and a deep dissatisfaction with the world. The season will follow the established characters as they confront Akasha, with the fate of both the vampire and human worlds at stake. The third season ended on a major cliffhanger that directly sets up the new storyline, including a violent confrontation in which Armand and Daniel Molloy behead Louis and Lestat.

Panel highlights and absent star

The Comic-Con panel featured executive producers Johnson and Moscovitch alongside cast members Jacob Anderson, Assad Zaman, Eric Bogosian, and Atim. Sam Reid, who plays Lestat, was absent due to his commitment to a stage production of Doubt. Anderson addressed the crowd, asking them to "cheer for Sam Reid again. It's really weird him not being here." Johnson reflected on the shocking penultimate episode, noting the audacity of decapitating the two leads.

Who takes a pen over an episode and decapitates the two leads. It's unheard of. And yet, I would love to say I saw this all coming.

Background and reception

The television series first premiered in 2022 as "Interview With the Vampire," the second adaptation of Rice's 1976 novel after the 1994 film starring Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt. That film grossed over $223 million worldwide. A 2002 film adaptation of Queen of the Damned, starring Aaliyah as Akasha, earned only $45 million. The current AMC series has been one of the highest-rated shows of the year on Rotten Tomatoes. Season three produced 20 original songs performed by Reid, including "Your Biggest Fan" and a cover of Billy Idol's "Dancing With Myself." No release date has been set for the fourth season.