AMC is looking to expand its Anne Rice franchise.
The cable outlet is developing a third series to run alongside Interview With the Vampire and Mayfair Witches in what AMC calls its “Anne Rice Immortal Universe.” The potential show would focus on the secretive Talamasca organization featured in several of Rice’s novels and introduced on screen via the Mayfair Witches character Ciprien Grieve, played by Tongayi Chirisa.
Oscar nominee John Lee Hancock (The Blind Side, The Little Things) will serve as showrunner and writer on the project, which AMC Networks entertainment president and AMC Studios head Dan McDermott announced Tuesday at the network’s upfront presentation.
“The enthusiastic critical and fan reception to Interview and Mayfair is a great sign of what is yet to come in this immersive universe based on the works of Anne Rice,” McDermott said in a statement. “We’re excited to be in active development of the next installment in this growing franchise, written and to be showrun by the incomparable John Lee Hancock. The Talamasca is one of the most intriguing elements of Rice’s works and a connective thread through so many of her stories. The standalone and crossover potential for this third series is immense.”
The Talamasca project is one of three announcements McDermott made at AMC Networks’ upfront in New York on Tuesday. He also unveiled two new shows at WE: Toya & Reginae, a Growing Up Hip Hop spinoff centered on the ex-wife and daughter of Lil Wayne, and Bev Is Boss, a scripted series based on the life of music manager Deb Antney that counts Jamie Foxx among its executive producers.
In Rice’s novels, the Talamasca are a group dating back more than a thousand years that devotes itself to studying and chronicling the supernatural world, as well as keeping mortals safe from its darkest elements. If it goes forward, it would join Interview With the Vampire and Mayfair Witches, both of which have been renewed for second seasons.
AMC Networks landed rights to 18 of Rice’s novels, including The Vampire Chronicles and the Mayfair Witches trilogy, in a 2020 deal. Producer Mark Johnson (Breaking Bad, Halt and Catch Fire) oversees development of the franchise.
