“The Vampire Lestat,” the renamed, third season of AMC’s “Interview with the Vampire,” wrapped up July 19, leaving us all a little bit confused about what we just watched. It also left us with a giant vampire-shaped hole in our lives—at least for the time being. 

If you loved this revamped—pun intended—season of the Anne Rice adaptation and are feeling a little bereft without your weekly dose of Lestat and Louis’ shenanigans, we have some recommendations for you. AMC hasn’t announced whether they’re bringing back “Interview with the Vampire” for a fourth season, but with the success of the latest offering and plenty of source material to work from, it seems like all but a sure thing. The following suggestions should tide you over until that day comes. 

If you like Anne Rice

The good news for “IWTV” fans is that it comes from a vast universe of books by the late, great Anne Rice. The good news is that AMC has already launched two spinoffs from the primary show starring Sam Reid and Jacob Anderson as part of its Immortal Universe. (OK, some bad news: One of those has already been canceled). 

First up is “Mayfair Witches,” a series about a family of witches dating back centuries and whose lives overlap to a certain degree with everyone’s favorite vampires. The series stars Alexandra Daddario as Rowan, a young neurosurgeon and adoptee who grew up away from her magical family only to discover her true nature upon her mother’s death. 

This series also stars Jack Huston as the mysterious being Lasher, Tongayi Chirisa as Ciprien, an empath, and Harry Hamlin, Annabeth Gish and Jen Richards as fellow Mayfairs. The series has two seasons under its belt, and you’re in luck because Season 3 is expected to premiere next year. 

AMC also ran one series of “Talamasca: The Secret Order” before canceling it earlier this year. The series wasn’t based on any one particular book or story line from Rice’s books. Instead, it took inspiration from both her witches and vampires series and created new material about the Talamasca, a secretive organization that collects historical artifacts, records phenomena and investigates paranormal happenings. 

Many members of the Talamasca, such as Ciprien from the “Mayfair Witches,” have their own unique abilities. 

The series stars Nicholas Denton as the telepathic Guy Anatole, who is recruited to join the order to help Helen (Elizabeth McGovern) investigate one of their own, Jasper (William Fichtner). Reid makes a voice cameo in the series and Justin Kirk plays the role of Raglan James, a member of the Talamasca, in both series. 

Also coming down the pike is a feature film adaptation of Rice’s novel “Cry to Heaven.” It’s not part of the Immortal Universe and isn’t a fantasy. Adapted by Tom Ford, it focuses on the use of castrati in opera in 18th century Venice. It stars Nicholas Hoult, Adele, Hunter Schaffer and Aaron Taylor-Johnson and has no release date. 

If you like vampires

If you love vampires and don’t care whose universe they come from, the most obvious choice would be to give HBO’s “True Blood” a try. It’s an older series, running for seven seasons starting in 2008, based on “The Southern Vampire Mysteries” by Charlaine Harris. 

The series stars Anna Paquin as Sookie Stackhouse, a waitress living in rural Louisiana who can hear people’s thoughts. The series starts a couple years after vampires make themselves known to the human public thanks to a synthetic blood they drink instead of killing people. 

Like “The Vampire Lestat,” “True Blood” is campy in that over-the-top way, with outrageous characters and plenty of laughs. For those who love the whole Lestat-Louis-Armand-Daniel love … rectangle? … we’ve got a little bit of that between Sookie, Bill (Stephen Moyer) and Eric (Alexander Skarsgard). Plenty of sex and gore, too. 

With 13 books and seven television seasons, there’s plenty to keep your little vampire-loving heart happy until Lestat returns. 

For something a little more on the drama/historical side, give “A Discovery of Witches” a try. This three-season show is based on the series of books by Deborah Harkness. While only witches are mentioned in the title of the show, it actually follows a world in which witches, vampires and daemons all exist and must keep strictly apart from one another. 

But the two stars of the series, the witch Diana (Teresa Palmer) and the vampire Matthew (Matthew Goode) fall in love and must find a way to protect themselves and their loved ones from the Congregation, a sort of council of supernatural creatures. 

This series has a bit more romance to it, a lot less campy humor and throws in some time travel to keep things interesting. “A Discovery of Witches” concluded its run a few years ago but streams on AMC and Shudder. 

If you like the romance

Speaking of romance, the television adaptation of Rice’s Vampire Chronicles definitely takes a different approach to the relationship between Lestat and Louis. In the books, it’s clear there’s a love and bond between the two vampires that even a little bit of attempted murder can’t deny. But the vampires in Rice’s world generally don’t have sex and their relationships are more like a platonic obsession. 

The TV series, however, really leans into freaky sky sex. These men are definitely boyfriends. Lovers to enemies to boyfriends to enemies. You get the picture. 

If that’s what really turns you on about “The Vampire Lestat,” give “Heated Rivalry” a try. OK, it has absolutely nothing to do with vampires, but you can’t tell me Ilya (Connor Storrie) doesn’t have Brat Prince energy. And I don’t think Shane (Hudson Williams) is going to try to murder his lover anytime soon, but he and Louis both have that tortured-angry kitten-yearning thing going on. I’m telling you, they’re the same. Just without all the blood. 

The first season of “Heated Rivalry” came out in November and can be streamed on HBO Max. Season 2 is expected next year. 

Another enemies-to-lovers story is the feature film “Red, White & Royal Blue.” It stars Taylor Zakhar Perez as Alex, the son of the U.S. president played by Uma Thurman, and Nicholas Galitzine as Prince Henry, the younger brother of the heir to the British throne. 

After an altercation between the two men at the heir’s wedding, Alex and Henry are forced to pose as friends to soften the blow of the bad press. Over time, the two fall for each other and navigate a secret relationship while living in the public eye. 

This one is more of a feel-good romance story, though not without conflict. The film streams on Prime Video, and a sequel, “Red, White & Royal Wedding,” is in production with a release date later this year. 

If you like rock and roll

Finally, if Lestat’s rock-star persona in the third season of the series is what appeals to you, give “Daisy Jones & the Six” a try. The limited series released in 2023 is an adaptation of Taylor Jenkins Reid’s novel, which is very loosely inspired by the 1970s band Fleetwood Mac. 

Both lean heavily into the sex and drugs (or blood) part of the old “sex, drugs and rock and roll” lifestyle. 

Riley Keough stars as Daisy Jones (a stand-in for the delightfully witchy Stevie Nicks) opposite Sam Claflin’s Billy Dunne (think Lindsey Buckingham). The story is told from a series of interviews with members of the band talking about their rise to fame in the 1970s, complete with plenty of affairs, drugs, fights and lots of time on a tour bus. Alas, no vampires. 

About the writer

Danielle Haynes is the co-founder and co-editor of Booked & Screened, covering book-to-screen adaptations, film and TV development. She has watched and/or read every single one of these titles and stands by these recommendations. Seriously.