The Anne Rice Immortal Universe is expanding at AMC. Already the home of Rice's witches and vampires, new spinoff The Talamasca will highlight the mysterious, centuries-old organization dedicated to studying paranormal phenomena and protecting the vulnerable.
In Anne Rice's world, the mysterious order known as The Talamasca has existed for centuries. Always in the shadows, the organization's motto is that "We watch and we are always there." The group has been a major influence in all of Rice's books, and they're even more prevalent in the Anne Rice Immortal Universe. While the Motherhouse is based in England, branches of the organization are found all over the world and the New Orleans branch has had its hands full between the vampires and the witches.
While no crossovers between the shows have been announced at this time, there's no question that characters from one show could cross over to The Talamasca in the future.
The six-episode first season is scheduled to begin filming in fall 2024 with an eye toward a 2025 release. The project will film in Manchester, England. John Lee Hancock (The Blind Side) and Mark Lafferty (The Right Stuff, Halt and Catch Fire) will serve as co-showrunners, with Hancock also stepping in to direct.
Here's everything we know about The Talamasca so far.
The Talamasca release date
The Talamasca will premiere in 2025, but we don't have an exact release date yet. As mentioned above, production is scheduled to begin this fall and the show will premiere in 2025, likely in the summer or fall based upon AMC's lineup of returning shows. The show will air on AMC and AMC Plus.
AMC is the home for all shows in the Anne Rice Universe, including Interview with the Vampire and Mayfair Witches. AMC is usually included with a standard cable subscription. If you don’t have cable, you can watch AMC through live TV streaming services like YouTube TV, Fubo TV and Sling TV.
You will also be able to watch the series on AMC Plus, which is a standalone service that can be accessed as an add-on channel on Prime Video, Apple TV Plus or Roku. The streaming service additionally allows you to watch content on your computer or mobile device. The biggest benefit of an AMC Plus subscription is that you have the ability to view new episodes before they premiere.
The Talamasca premise
Here's what we learned about The Talamasca from the AMC press release:
"With a working title of Anne Rice’s The Talamasca and slated for a 2025 premiere, the series will feature the men and women responsible for tracking and containing the witches, vampires, werewolves and other creatures scattered around the globe.
"Members of The Talamasca are introduced in Anne Rice’s Interview with the Vampire and Anne Rice’s Mayfair Witches, the two current series in AMC’s Immortal Universe franchise. Oscar-nominated John Lee Hancock (The Blind Side) and Mark Lafferty (The Right Stuff, Halt and Catch Fire) are serving as witers, co-showrunners and executive producers of the new series. Hancock will also direct."
Dan McDermott, president of entertainment and AMC Studios for AMC Networks, had this to say about the series: "This is a story we’ve been developing and wanting to tell from the earliest moments of this franchise, focused on a fascinating and compelling secret society that has already appeared in both of our existing Anne Rice series, The Talamasca. As with all of these shows, we are thrilled to have such a high level of talent involved, represented here by John Lee Hancock and Mark Lafferty, and of course working closely with producer Mark Johnson as the creative head of our Anne Rice Immortal Universe."
"This all started for me with a call from Mark Johnson, who asked if I'd ever heard of The Talamasca," said Hancock. "I was intrigued by the idea of an organization that, to me, had more than a passing resemblance to the CIA or MI6, which are necessary but not always necessarily transparent. An organization with its own secrets. Thankfully, Dan McDermott liked the take and so did Mark Lafferty, who is so talented and accomplished in the world of television. Many thanks to everyone from Gran Via to Mark Lafferty, to our talented writers and everyone at AMC, who have been supporters, advocates and cheerleaders from day one. I couldn't be more thrilled to be involved and look forward to presenting a third series in the Anne Rice Immortal Universe."
It didn't take long for Lafferty to join the project after hearing the pitch. "When John told me about a clandestine organization in the Immortal Universe with its own hidden agendas, I was immediately hooked. I’ve admired his writing and directing for so long, and to be working with him is a true honor and thrill. Many thanks to Dan McDermott and all the incredibly talented people at AMC for their tireless support and talent, and to Mark Johnson — there is no better producer to learn from and work beside than him."
"With the second season of Interview with the Vampire currently receiving the best reviews of any show on television and with the production of Mayfair Witches about to wrap in Ireland, promising an even more compelling and unnerving second season, the question is what do we now add to the Immortal Universe of Anne Rice?" noted Mark Johnson. "The answer is a completely different show from the first two, but a show that nevertheless belongs under the Anne Rice umbrella. The Talamasca marries the procedural spy thriller with the supernatural and expands the thrills and the pleasures of our franchise's ambitions."
The Talamasca cast
Nicholas Denton (Dangerous Liaisons, Glitch) has been cast as the lead in The Talamasca, playing the role of Guy Anatole. Here's what we know about Guy, as provided by an AMC press release: "He is brilliant, handsome and sharp on the surface, but he’s always known his mind works a little differently. On the cusp of graduating law school, he is approached by a representative of the Talamasca, a secretive agency that monitors and protects us from the supernatural world. When Guy learns that the Talamasca has been tracking him since his childhood, he falls headlong into a world of secret agents and immortal beings who, up to now, have maintained a fragile balance with the mortal world. But for that balance to hold, and for Guy to survive, he will have to learn to embrace the dark, treacherous depths of his true and singular self."
Variety reported that Downton Abbey's Elizabeth McGovern has been added to the cast as Helen, "a seasoned veteran of the Talamasca, and the leader of its New York Motherhouse. She has long suspected that London’s Motherhouse has fallen under the influence of traitorous elements, and a mysterious death prompts her to recruit Guy Anatole (Denton), who will become her protégé."
William Fichtner (Prison Break) also joined the cast as Jasper, "a mysterious American who has quietly assumed control and influence over the Talamasca’s London Motherhouse. Though his motives and methods are cloaked in shadow, his charm and righteous sense of purpose are as dangerous as the power he’s pursuing."
We've already met a few members of the Talamasca in Interview with the Vampire and Mayfair Witches; whether or not we see them in The Talamasca series remains to be seen. They include Ciprien Grieve (Mayfair Witches' Tongayi Chirisa) and Interview with the Vampire's Raglan James (Justin Kirk).
#TheTalamasca has found its lead. Welcome to the Immortal Universe, Nicholas Denton. pic.twitter.com/Nf3UcIq3EkSeptember 4, 2024
The Talamasca trailer
There's no trailer for The Talamasca just yet, as the show won't be in production until this fall. But as soon as we see a teaser or trailer, we'll have it for you right here.
