Anne Rice’s ‘Vampire Chronicles’ Series Picked Up by Hulu
After Josh Boone’s plans for a new Vampire Chronicles film adaptation (possibly starring Jared Leto) fell through, Paramount and Anne Rice decided to take the author’s beloved novel franchise to the small screen. Last year, the studio announced that it had optioned the rights to Rice’s 11-book collection for a new TV series, which has been officially picked up by Hulu.
Per Deadline, Hulu will be home to a new Vampire Chronicles TV series adaptation, with Anne Rice and her son Christopher Rice executive producing with Anonymous Content. The series is currently in need of a new showrunner following Bryan Fuller’s (Hannibal) exit earlier this year. (Poor Bryan Fuller. Can Netflix just throw some of their money at him or something?)
The Vampire Chronicles consists of 11 books (and counting), including the 1976 debut novel Interview With the Vampire — previously adapted into a film starring Tom Cruise as the narcissistic vampire Lestat and Brad Pitt as his soft-hearted protege, Louis. In 1985, Rice released the second novel, The Vampire Lestat, which — as the title suggests — shifted the focus of the series to the eponymous character, a French nobleman who was turned into a vampire in the 18th century.
The third novel in the series is The Queen of the Damned, which was adapted into a poorly-received 2002 film starring the late, great Aaliyah. That book follows Lestat’s exploits as the frontman of a rock band (yes, really) and explores the origins of vampires. Other books in Rice’s collection include The Tale of the Body Thief (in which Lestat briefly becomes human again), Memnoch the Devil (in which Lestat meets Satan), and, most recently, Prince Lestat and the Realms of Atlantis (in which Lestat goes to the underwater city of Atlantis).
Although the latter novels are increasingly ridiculous, there’s plenty of great material to be mined from Rice’s earlier works. With the right showrunner and star, The Vampire Chronicles has the potential to become a major hit for Hulu — which is good because The Handmaid’s Tale can’t last forever.