Two shows was never going to be enough for a cinematic world called the “Immortal Universe.” And now AMC has found its next focus from Anne Rice’s many novels: The network is developing a series about the Talamasca, Rice’s secret society which keeps an eye on the supernatural.
If you just thought, “Oh, neat, vampire Torchwood,” you are certainly not alone.
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To be fair, the Talamasca existed, fictionally speaking, long before Captain Jack Harkness came on the scene. But you swap out aliens for vampires and witches and you get the gist: as AMC’s description explains, the show “is set in the world of the Talamasca, a secretive organization featured in a number of Rice’s iconic novels that is devoted to studying the supernatural world and keeping mortals safe from its darkest elements.”
The Talamasca exists across Rice’s series and has a ton of potential as connective tissue (and crossover fodder) among Interview with the Vampire, Mayfair Witches, and whatever AMC cooks up next.
John Lee Hancock is on board to write and serve as showrunner for the series. It’s a slightly weird choice, as Hancock’s resume includes The Blind Side (as director and co-writer), Snow White and the Huntsman (co-writer), and—maybe this one is a little more relevant—the Stephen King adaptation Mr. Harrigan’s Phone (writer and director). He also created the short-lived ’90s TV series L.A. Doctors.
AMC has the rights to Rice’s Vampire Chronicles and Lives of the Mayfair Witches, 18 books in total, and has wasted no time in bringing those tales to the small screen. Both Interview with the Vampire (pictured above) and Mayfair Witches are going into their second seasons.
The Talamasca series is only in development, so no casting or timeline has been announced. But it does seem a solid next step in making this universe appropriately undying.
