Summary
- The Talamasca, a secret society in Anne Rice's books, could tie together all her shows and lead to more spinoffs and crossovers.
- The Talamasca, founded over a thousand years ago, keeps an eye on vampires, witches, werewolves, and ghosts worldwide.
- Key characters like David, Merrick, Jesse, and Michael from the Talamasca play significant roles in the Vampire Chronicles and Mayfair Witches Trilogy.
AMC is rolling out its third TV show in its Anne Rice's Immortal Universe, spinoff show The Talamasca is set to them.
Both Interview with the Vampire, currently in its second season, and Mayfair Witches, currently filming its season 2, have been huge hits, not just with audiences but also with critics. It's unsurprising that AMC would want to expand Anne Rice's Immortal Universe as quickly as possible considering the success of the first two shows. The third show, however, revolves around a premise that could tie together all three shows and set the stage for more spinoffs and crossovers in the future: the Talamasca.
What Is The Talamasca In Anne Rice's Books
The Secret Society Has Been Around A While
In Anne Rice's books, the Order of the Talamasca, usually just referred to as the Talmasca, is a secret society. Like many fictional secret societies, the Talamasca is involved in the arcane and the occult, with its primary purpose being to observe, research, and keep an eye on supernatural creatures and paranormal events. While it doesn't discriminate against any paranormal entity, the Talmasca most closely monitor - and work with - vampires and witches, but werewolves and ghosts also factor in to their study.
Though the exact history has been lost, the Talamasca is ancient, reportedly established almost 1,300 years ago in 758 A.D., though it supposedly wasn't formally named and established until the 11th century. The order was created by the vampire Teskahmen, the ghost Grempt, and a few others who were around during Akasha's reign as the first vampire. Most are psychically or magically gifted in some way, whether through psychometry, clairvoyance, or mediumship.
Interview With The Vampire's Immortal Universe Expanding With Third Series Greenlit By AMC
Interview with the Vampire's Immortal Universe is expanding with a third series greenlit by AMC, focused on a new story set to be released in 2025
Their motto is "We watch and we are always here," reminding supernatural entities - namely vampires - that they're always keeping an eye on them and working to suppress the knowledge of the paranormal from normal citizens. Claiming they're always around is boast they can back up: the Talamasca has bases all over the world, including in Amsterdam, Rome, and London, but London is considered the main headquarters. In truth, the Talamasca is just as powerful, perhaps even more, than the ancient vampires and awe-inspiring witches they monitor.
Prominent Talamasca Characters In Anne Rice's Books
Three Characters Really Stand Out
While there are numerous of the Talmasca all over the globe, there are a handful of prominent characters in the books who are of the order. The first is David Talbot, who is a controversial figure in the books, both in-universe and with readers. David is elderly and has risen to the rank of Superior General of the Talamasca, so he's a wise and learned adversary-turned-friend for Lestat. Unfortunately, David's storyline through the Vampire Chronicles was not well-liked by fans, and his predilection for younger men and women - he is canonically a pedophile - is deeply uncomfortable.
Merrick Mayfair is another notable member in the books, even getting her own titular spinoff book, Merrick. As a Mayfair ancestor, Merrick is an incredibly powerful witch. However, as her family branch is estranged from the Mayfairs, she's taken in by David Talbot and Aaron Lightner, another member of the order, and raised by the Talamasca. As an adult able to make her own choices and now fully having grown into her power, Merrick makes the decision to become a fully-fledged member of the order.
Along with David, Merrick, and Aaron, two other named Talamasca in the books are Jesse Reeves and Michael Curry. Jesse is descended from the powerful witch, Maharet, who takes an interest in her thanks to her powers to see and speak with ghosts. She was later invited into the order by Aaron. As for Michael, Rowan Mayfair revives him after drowning and his near-death experience gives him the power of psychometry and to see the history of an object when he touches it. In the AMC shows, the character Ciprien Grieve, who was created for the Mayfair Witches TV show, has served as an amalgam of Aaron Lightner and Michael Curry and will likely take their place.
Which Anne Rice Books Do The Talamasca Appear In?
They're Mostly A Part Of Two Book Series
While it can be assumed the Talamasca are present in the universe of all Anne Rice's books, they mainly feature in two series: the Vampire Chronicles (Interview with the Vampire) and the Mayfair Witches Trilogy. David Talbot has his own extended arc in the Vampire Chronicles, featured in The Tale of the Body Thief, in which he is swapped into the body of a younger man and then turned by Lestat. Michael Curry is a major character in the Mayfair Witches Trilogy, with chapters being devoted to his point of view. Aaron Lightner first appears in Queen of the Damned, as does Jesse Reeves, but, unlike Jesse, Aaron goes on to feature in the Mayfair books. Merrick, of course, is all over the Mayfair Witches Trilogy and her own book.
What AMC's New Anne Rice Immortal Universe Talamasca Show Could Be About
The Seeds Have Already Been Planted
In AMC's Anne Rice's Immortal Universe, the new Talamasca TV show has already been well set up. The aforementioned Ciprien Grieve is a major character in Mayfair Witches. Meanwhile, Interview with the Vampire season 2 also introduced a member of the Talamasca. While there are certainly threads from the books that could be followed in The Talamasca TV show, considering the Immortal Universe has already taken some liberties with Talamasca characters and exact plotlines from the books, it wouldn't be surprising if it were to be a wholly original story.
It will certainly be a different tone from Interview and Mayfair. Producer Mark Johnson, the creative head of the Immortal Universe, has promised The Talamasca will set itself apart from the previous two shows. "The Talamasca marries the procedural spy thriller with the supernatural and expands the thrills and the pleasures of our franchise’s ambitions,” he said. With Interview with the Vampire currently in its acclaimed second season and Mayfair Witches in the middle of shooting its season 2, the third Anne Rice spinoff is set up to be just as big a hit as the first two shows.
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Interview with the Vampire
- Release Date
- October 2, 2022
Based on Anne Rice's novel series that began in 1976, Interview with the Vampire is a gothic horror fantasy series that explores the life of Louis de Pointe du Lac through an interview with a journalist. Told through flashbacks of Louis' life during the interview, the series examines Louis' relationship with the vampire that turned him, Lestat de Lioncourt, and a teenage girl named Claudia, whom he turns. The series is the first of Anne Rice's Immortal Universe media franchise.
- Cast
- Jacob Anderson, Sam Reid, Eric Bogosian, Bailey Bass
- Writers
- Rolin Jones
- Seasons
- 2
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Mayfair Witches
- Release Date
- January 7, 2023
Mayfair Witches follows a young neurosurgeon who discovers her unexpected lineage as the heir to a powerful family of witches. As she navigates her emerging magical abilities, she confronts a dark force that has plagued her family through the generations. Created by Esta Spalding and Michelle Ashford.
- Cast
- Charlayne Woodard, Suleka Mathew, Deneen Tyler, Melissa Chambers, Nadine Lewington, Jay Howard Thames, Keyara Milliner, Dennis Boutsikaris, Madison Wolfe, Leslie Castay, Erica Gimpel, Tobias Jelinek, Cameron Inman, Billy Slaughter, Jim Gleason, Robert Aberdeen, Joshua Mikel, Jessie Terrebonne, Chris Coy
- Writers
- Michelle Ashford, Esta Spalding
- Seasons
- 1
