hedonism on a budget

the creators (and some of the cast) had the audacity to call the first 2 seasons boring, to reduce it to "two guys in a room talking." two guys in a room talking produced some of the best television i have ever seen.

daniel was challenging louis at every turn. meanwhile here there's no pushback for lestat and no real development. i get we're inside the head of a very unwell person, and i didn't expect everything to be tied up in a neat bow (far from it--the first book was better for being split into 2 parts even if it wasn't the original intent), but again my biggest problem is i'm not seeing any story. no development of the characters we got to know from louis' POV for two seasons. i'm seeing....music videos and incest and racism played for shock value. important dynamics (dm, loustat reconnecting between ep 5 and ep 6) are implied or referenced in a few lines, often offscreen.

i hate saying this because the books have helped me to understand and love lestat as the complex character he is, but if i was a show-only fan i'd be....so lost as to why i should care about this guy. if this was supposed to be a season that explains why lestat is the way he is, i've gotten very little of that with the exception of gratuitous imagery of his abuse at the hands of his mother.

Videos and photo of Ryan and Shane's portrait posted on AliciaAnneArt's Instagram story July 16, 2026

This portrait was painted live while filming Mystery Files 5x07, the Theodosia Burr Alston episode