‘Vampire Chronicles’ TV Series Finds New Life At AMC, Brings The ‘Mayfair Witches’ Along For The Ride
A potential TV series based onAnne Rice’sThe Vampire Chronicleshas been searching for fresh blood for a few years now, and it looks like it’s found it at AMC. The network just scored the rights to bothThe Vampire Chroniclesand Rice’sThe Lives of the Mayfair Witches, and plans to develop TV shows and even films around both. AVampire ChroniclesTV series was previously set up at Hulu before someone drove a stake through the heart of that deal.
Varietyis reporting that AMC scored the film and TV rights to Anne Rice’sVampire ChroniclesandMayfair Witchesbooks. As they state, “AMC now holds the comprehensive rights for the much sought-after intellectual property and will develop film and television projects for its own television networks and streaming services under the AMC Studios umbrella as well as external partner licensing. Anne Rice and her son Christopher Rice will serve as executive producers on all series and films developed under the deal.”
This is the deal Rice and her team were searching for. Last December, when word broke that the Hulu deal was no longer moving forward, it wasreportedthat a “new package being shopped includes bothThe Vampire Chroniclesand also Rice’sMayfair Witches, which is currently set up at Warner Bros. The asking price is said to be around $30 to $40 million, in addition to a $2.5 million buyout of Warner Bros.' rights. In exchange for the huge upfront fee however, the new owner will hold the rights in perpetuity, and not just as an option.”
“It’s always been my dream to see the worlds of my two biggest series united under a single roof so that filmmakers could explore the expansive and interconnected universe of my vampires and witches,” Anne Rice said in light of the new AMC deal. “That dream is now a reality, and the result is one of the most significant and thrilling deals of my long career.”
There are thirteen books that make up theVampire Chronicles, and three books in theMayfair Witchessaga. On top of that, several of the books serve as cross-overs between both series.The Vampire Chroniclesfirst found its way to the screen with Neil Jordan’s excellent 1994 film adaptation ofInterview of the Vampirestarring Tom Cruise. An attempt to revive the film series happened in 2002 with the awfulQueen of the Damned. Since then, there have been rumblings about trying to bring the series back from the dead, and at one point, Bryan Fuller was even attached – a seemingly great idea that sadly fell through.
Rolin Joneswill be involved with developing the books for TV. Rice’s books are ripe for new adaptations. That said, it seems like Rice and son Christopher Rice will have a lot of control over these new adaptations, and I’m not entirely sure that’s a great idea. Sure, Rice deserves credit for creating these worlds. But the books Rice wrote grew increasingly…well…bad. As Rice grew more and more powerful in the publishing world, she was able to flat-outrefuse notes from editors. As a result, her books became more bloated and messy. One of the reasons theInterview of the Vampiremovie works so well is that it takes liberties with the text. Fingers crossed this will all work out well in the end.
Regarding the deal, Sarah Barnett, president of AMC Networks Entertainment Group and AMC Studios, said: “These remarkable stories and characters are massive in their appeal and we are privileged to take over stewardship of these legendary works and collaborate with a talent like Rolin Jones to find ways for new generations of fans to experience these worlds.”
