Guy Anatole (Nicholas Denton) knows he’s not normal. Most lawyers can’t read other people’s thoughts. That doesn’t mean he’s convinced that the world is full of magic and mysticism, but he has too many questions about his mysterious past, and the disappearance of his mother, to stay ignorant. After being followed down the street by the mysterious Helen (Elizabeth McGovern), Guy finds himself part of the world of the Talamasca, an all-knowing society who claim to be the puppet masters of the shadow realm where the monsters lie. And they want Guy to join their ranks.
As a writer, Anne Rice was never one to phone it in. Her lushly developed worlds of the paranormal became legendary thanks to her earnest commitment to her oft-derided ideas. Over the course of several decades, she wove a rich and interconnected universe of history, eroticism and existentialism that stretched across multiple novels and thousands of pages. That made any attempts to adapt her books a hard task for even the most ambitious writer, but AMC pulled off the miracle of the decade with “Interview With the Vampire,” creating both a loving interpretation of its subject matter while deviating from canon in unique and deftly handled ways. The network wants its Rice universe to be as expansive as the books, but “The Mayfair Witches,” while starting out promisingly, has struggled to find its footing. With “Talamasca: The Secret Order,” they have an even bigger challenge: a series based on ideas from Rice’s work but with original characters, plots and themes created from scratch.
Certainly, there is a lot of room to mine. Rice’s books span not only characters and themes but styles. One can read like a Victorian biography while another feels like a ‘90s urban fantasy. “Talamasca”, the name of the secret order that monitors the supernatural world throughout Rice’s novels, offers an intriguing opportunity for the Immortal Universe to delve into procedural territory. It’s an untapped idea that Rice certainly never tried (although her underread and somewhat underwritten angel books offer a hint at what could have been.) Plus, it’s a genre that audiences love, so why not go all in?
Showrunner John Lee Hancock has crafted this story into a conspiracy-laden thriller with case-of-the-week elements and a hell of a lot of “X-Files” inspiration. There are enough Easter eggs here to keep hardcore Rice enthusiasts satisfied but none of it is inaccessible to new viewers (nor is a dense knowledge of the preceding shows, although it’s hard to imagine anyone using “Talamasca” as their starting point for this universe.) While Rice eventually got around to writing about vampire podcasts and modern technology, “Talamasca” is savvy in its recontextualizing of her ideas in the 21st century, where the surveillance state is in full effect. Shadowy alleys and sneaking supernaturals make for a good fit alongside the conventions of the spy thriller, to the point where you wonder why nobody’s done more with this concept.
But it’s also an idea that comes up against the plots of the preceding series: how does the magical world remain a tightly guarded secret when Daniel Molloy (Eric Bogosian) is doing sold-out book tours about his interview with a vampire? An added (human) police subplot feels inconsequential alongside the grander narrative too. “Talamasca” works best when it operates on its own rules, although that might not be a long-term solution given AMC’s desire to Marvel-out their IP here.
“The Mayfair Witches” took a long time to find its freaky groove, mostly because it seemed so hesitant to embrace the inherent surrealness of Rice’s work. Mercifully, “Talamasca” earns a lot of goodwill through a thoroughly game cast. Denton wrings a good amount of charm out of Guy, who could have been a bland human protagonist but gets to scheme and work to outwit those around him. McGovern is having a blast as the head honcho who takes murder and backstabbing in her stride.
The intrinsic theatricality of the vampires shines through both a delightfully over-the-top Jason Schwartzman and the ever-elusive but terrifying William Fichter, who looms large as the inscrutable Jasper. As Guy builds an uneasy but enthralled alliance with him, the series sparks to life with their tangled dynamic. There’s tenderness amidst their allure but also mutual manipulation. To pay it the highest compliment, it’s all very Rice-esque. Lestat would be proud.
Tonally and thematically, “Talamasca” is on surer ground than “The Mayfair Witches” was in its first season but still lags behind the astonishing feat pulled off with “Interview With the Vampire.” Yet that still signals a strong step forward for this Immortal Universe. Tying it all together remains less than guaranteed, although it makes more sense here than it did with New Orleans’s messiest coven. As its own thing, too, there is a lot to enjoy, especially if you’re in the market for a new procedural that isn’t about lawyers or naval investigators. If AMC wants to keep this universe immortal then it needs to let its many series be as odd and ambitious as the source material. For a show not rooted in a prior narrative, “Talamasca” seems confident that it can pull that off.
“Talamasca: The Secret Order” premieres Sunday, Oct.26, on AMC and streams the next day on AMC+.
