[Warning: The following contains MAJOR spoilers for Interview With the Vampire Season 2 Episode 2 and 3, as well as The Vampire Lestat novel.]
Interview With the Vampire book readers are in for a treat when Season 2 Episode 3 airs this Sunday, May 26 on AMC. New photos from the episode released by the network reveal that a major book character, Nicholas, is making his debut in the episode. The character is played by Joseph Potter, who fans have been theorizing had been cast as this character for a long time.
The description for the episode, titled “No Pain,” says, “Armand tells the history of the Théâtre des Vampires; Louis tells of his reluctance to join.” Knowing that Lestat (Sam Reid) was a co-founder of the Parisian theater, and based on previously released photos and the promo for the episode (played on AMC at the end of Episode 2 on May 19 — see below), it seems that viewers will be taken back to the theater’s origins hundreds of years in the past — and we’re getting some Lestat backstory seemingly narrated by Armand (Assad Zaman) himself in the Dubai interview with Daniel Molloy (Eric Bogosian).
Nicolas is first introduced in The Vampire Lestat, the second book in Anne Rice‘s The Vampire Chronicles franchise. In the book, Lestat and Nicolas de Lenfent (affectionately called Nicki) are close friends but that develops into love. Lestat and Nicki leave their hometown for Paris together, where Nicki pursues a career as a violinist and Lestat becomes an actor. It’s during this time that Lestat is turned into a vampire against his will by his maker, Magnus, a story Reid’s Lestat told Louis (Jacob Anderson) and Claudia (Delainey Hayles, formerly Bailey Bass) in Season 1.
They’re playing a dangerous game. An all-new #InterviewWithTheVampire premieres this Sunday on AMC and AMC+. pic.twitter.com/5r4qR7QFF6
— Anne Rice’s Interview with the Vampire (@Immortal_AMC) May 20, 2024
Meeting Armand and his coven of vampires in Paris leads to chaos for Lestat and Nicki, as well as Lestat’s mother, Gabrielle, who eventually joins them in Paris. (There is no sign of Gabrielle in the photos. It’s not known if she’ll be a character at all this season.) The promo for “No Pain” shows Lestat acting on a grand stage in Paris, much grander than the Théâtres des Vampires, and Nicholas playing violin. It also shows Justin Kirk in his mystery role saying, “The Great Conversion, it’s real” near Daniel.
There’s a slight glimpse at Nicholas’ eyes in the promo, and they appear to be vampiric. Lestat turns Nicki into a vampire in The Vampire Lestat, but the photo of the pair above (and in the gallery below) shows Nicholas as a human. Could we see Nicholas’ transformation in the episode? Whatever happens, seeing Lestat’s first love onscreen is going to be a thrill for fans of the books. In fact, showrunner Rolin Jones previously told TV Insider that Episode 3 was made to excite the book fans.
“If I was a hardcore fan of these books and Episode 3 came up, I would be very pleased at the end 52 minutes later,” Jones told us.
Also revealed in the Episode 3 photos are a plethora of shots of Lestat dressed like a harlequin and performing with more attitude than ever. Based on the sheer volume of Lestat photos from this episode, it seems we’re going to see more of this character than we have this season so far in “No Pain.” Scroll through the gallery below for a glimpse at what’s to come.
Interview With the Vampire, Sundays, 9/8c, AMC, Streaming Sundays on AMC+
