Jacob Anderson promises 'there will be surprises' in Interview With the Vampire season 2

What happens in New Orleans doesn't stay in New Orleans when Interview With the Vampire returns for season 2.

After Lestat de Lioncourt's (Sam Reid) "death" in the season 1 finale of AMC's adaptation of Anne Rice's iconic gothic romance, Louis de Pointe du Lac (Jacob Anderson) and their adopted daughter Claudia (originally portrayed by Bailey Bass in season 1, but recast with Delainey Hayles for season 2) were left reeling. It's not just the loss of the third member of their found family that follows them from the Big Easy to their new home in France, but also their shared guilt over betraying and leaving Lestat. (Check out EW's exclusive first look of their arrival to Paris below.)

"The theme of season 2 is this idea of memory is a monster, and how memory and guilt can follow you around," Anderson tells EW over Zoom in between breaks from shooting the last episodes of the season. "When we meet Claudia and Louis in season 2, they're dealing with the psychological and literal repercussions of what they did together. With Louis, you definitely get a sense there was some hesitance on his part — he didn't really go through with it, he pulled back from the decision at the last minute, because he is very in love with this fellow monster. That creates tension between the two of them, Louis and Claudia, that they weren't exactly on the same page, so for those two to be together now in an unfamiliar territory creates a lot of drama."

While Anderson is careful to avoid talking about spoilers (despite book readers knowing what's coming this season), he's eager to reveal that what goes down for Louis this season actually impacted him in real life. "There are things that I can't talk about in this season that were really challenging and really shocking to me, and I've learned a lot of things about Louis and myself," he says. "Another big theme in the show is that of endurance and resilience, and because of what Louis is experiencing this season, I've definitely learned that my own mind is more resilient than I thought it was. It's more robust. I can withstand more madness than I thought I could. It's been really fulfilling and challenging and fun."

The first season of AMC's adaptation remained extremely faithful to author Rice's work — aside from the finale twist that deviated from the source material where it's Louis who makes the final blow to Lestat instead of Claudia. And Anderson promises that ethos remains the same in season 2. "We definitely stick to the second half of the book, and I'd say it's faithful to the spirit and actually the literal plot," he says. "I love the first book, but the second half is not quite as dense as the first half, so the writers this season have definitely expanded on ideas that are hinted at or suggested in the second part of the book."

A crucial part of the story that's expanded this season is the present-day storyline in Dubai. "The continuation of Dubai really opens everything up this season," Anderson reveals. "Dubai is really explosive. Dubai really took me by surprise this season. There's a lot going on there, and there are things that are a part of the wider series of books, but also things that are creations of the writers that makes complete sense to the characters that we know and love. It's a heavy season for those guys in the present."

Anderson smiles as he adds, "But we are also going to the theater, we're in Paris, we're in Eastern Europe, so it will be very familiar in all the same ways as the first season was, but also there will be surprises."

With the introduction of the deadly Théâtre des Vampires troupe comes the flashback story explaining exactly how Louis ends up with his new partner, Armand (Assad Zaman), seen throughout season 1 with him in Dubai (and below in EW's exclusive photo). And Anderson describes their initial meeting as "fresh out of the frying pan into the fire."

"Their relationship is really interesting, and it's one of the things that I'm most excited about people seeing this season," he adds. "It really evolves and changes as they get to know each other. They definitely hit it off — they have a real chemistry when they first meet. Armand would appear to be very different to Lestat, and I think he's more than a rebound, let's put it that way. But there's definitely residual trust issues and perhaps dynamics repeated, but not necessarily in the way that you think. They just click and they're not even really sure why they're drawn to each other, but it's an ever-shifting relationship as the season goes on."

Since the first season (and entire series) revolves so much around Louis and Lestat's complicated, toxic romance, Anderson knows that it might be difficult for fans to avoid comparing Louis and Armand's relationship to it. But he stresses how important it is to see Louis' connection with Armand as something entirely new.

"It is something that Assad and I thought about before we started shooting, but then realized really quickly that the only way that this would work would be to not make any comparisons," Anderson says. "It is part of the text that there are comparisons made and definitely their relationship is a response to Louis and Lestat's relationship, but Assad and I have a completely different relationship to mine and Sam's relationship, and obviously, it's acting, but we made a decision very early on to not try and replicate anything from that first [season]. Tangibly, it has to feel like a different thing. Otherwise you wouldn't understand why Louis would pick that relationship again."

Another new face debuting in season 2 is that of an already-familiar character, as Claudia has been recast with Hayles after Bass exited the series. "Delainey is a truly wonderful human being and she just dove in headfirst, and I'm very excited for people to fall in love with her — they will instantly," Anderson promises of his new costar. "I want to be careful about what I say about Claudia's season because, to me, so much of this season is about her. Claudia's in a very different headspace this season — she's got this drive now to find others like her. There's a different kind of maturity to the character, but also you feel her chafing against how she's seen in this very different environment to the one that she grew up in."

Will Louis and Claudia find what they're looking for in the City of Love? Find out when Interview With the Vampire returns in 2024 on AMC.

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