Author Anne Rice's book, Interview With the Vampire, set to be adapted for TV by AMC

Los Angeles: Anne Rice’s Interview with the Vampire is rising again on screen, this time for TV.

The bestselling novel, which was adapted for the 1994 Brad Pitt-Tom Cruise film, will be the basis for a new AMC and AMC+ series set for 2022, AMC Networks said on 24 June.

The announcement follows the company’s 2020 acquisition of 18 works by Rice, including 1976's Interview with the Vampire, its sequels and the Mayfair Witches series.

Producer Mark Johnson (Breaking Bad, Halt and Catch Fire) will be in charge of developing the books as a “streaming and television franchise and universe,” according to an AMC release. AMC+ is a subscription streaming service.[caption id="attachment_9751891" align="alignnone" width="640"] Author Anne Rice's book was first adapted in 1994 for the Brad Pitt-Tom Cruise film. Image via The Associated Press/ Lenny Ignelzi[/caption]In a statement, Johnson called the challenge of adapting Rice’s work “both intimidating and exhilarating....I recognize both the responsibility and the obligation we owe the material.”

The first series, headed by executive producer Rolin Jones (Perry Mason), has been greenlit for eight episodes for season one. Rice and her son, Christopher, are serving as executive producers.

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“We know how much this book and the ones that follow mean to their massive fan base,” Jones said in a statement. Casting wasn’t immediately announced.

In Rice’s gothic horror novel, vampire Louis de Pointe du Lac recounts his life to a journalist. The film, which also featured Christian Slater, Kirsten Dunst and Antonio Banderas, received mixed reviews but was a box-office success.