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Which bloodsucker is right for you? Our guide to TV's new vampire shows
Looking for the right vampire show to sink your teeth into? We've got you covered.
It's a good time to be a vampire. Yes, it's October, which means it's your time to shine (or sparkle, if you're a Twilight vamp), but it's also a new boom era for bloodsucking fiends of all kinds on the small screen. Over the course of just a few weeks, we're getting not one, not two, not three, but four new vampire shows to watch across various networks and streaming services, all of them with their own distinct flavor and approach. If you're a fan of creatures of the night, you've got a lot of options when you sit down on your couch.
But how do you know which vampire show is right for you? Should you be mainlining Reginald the Vampire or digging deep into the world of Vampire Academy? Or maybe you should be watching all four? It's a lot to take in, so to make sure you get the most out of your vampire viewing, we put together this handy guide to the four major vampire shows which just arrived on your TV. Take a look, and adjust your viewing plans accordingly.
Interview with the Vampire -- For classic vampire fans
Nearly 30 years after the Neil Jordan film adaptation, we finally have a long-form screen translation of Anne Rice's beloved vampire chronicles in the form of Interview with the Vampire. Created by writer Rolin Jones with the involvement of Rice (who passed away last year) and her son Christopher, the new series plays with the timeline of events a little bit, but preserves the core of Rice's narrative: The tale of a vampire named Louis (Jacob Anderson) who tells of his seduction and conversion by the vampire Lestat (Sam Reid) while a fascinated journalist (Eric Bogosian) listens.
If you love classic vampire tales, this has everything you could want: Years of story, period costumes, sexy moments, ornate coffins, and an ever-expanding world that, coupled with the upcoming Mayfair Witches series, could eventually encapsulate Rice's entire Vampire Chronicles universe. It's a sumptuous, rich journey, and it's just beginning.
Interview with the Vampire airs Sundays on AMC.
Reginald the Vampire -- For horror-comedy lovers
If you like your vampire fun a little lighter, SYFY has you covered with Reginald the Vampire. Created by Harley Peyton (Project Blue Book, Chucky) and adapted from Johnny B. Truant's Fat Vampire novels, the new series follows the title character (Spider-Man favorite Jacob Batolon) as he navigates life as the resident awkward teenager surrounded by cool kids. Desperate to get girls to notice him, he takes up with a new friend who just happens to be a bloodsucking creature of the night and....well, there's a reason the show is called Reginald the Vampire.
If you're looking for something a little less weighty and a bit more tongue-in-cheek, but still want a show that delivers the vampire goods, Reginald just might be your man. The show kicked off on SYFY this week, which means you've got a chance to get in on the ground floor of a new horror-comedy sharing the night with the likes of Chucky.
Reginald the Vampire airs Wednesdays on SYFY.
Let the Right One In -- For the straight-up horror fans
Swedish writer John Ajvide Lindqvist's vampire novel has already been adapted for film twice, first with a modern Swedish horror classic and then with a well-received American remake, and now it's the small screen's turn to deliver a take on the story. The new Showtime original series version of Let the Right One In is, importantly, more "inspired by" Lindqvist's novel than directly based on it. Like the book, it follows a child vampire (Madison Taylor Baez) and her trusted guardian (Demian Bichir) as they struggle to survive in a hostile world, but that's where many of the similarities end.
In the show, the vampire and her guardian are father and daughter, the vampirism she's contracted is part of an expanding viral threat, and there are apparently other vampires out there willing to do far worse than this little girl has ever been capable of doing to humans. The result is a series that seems to be leaning hard into horror and even a little bit of action. So if you like your vampires just a little more monstrous, this might be the show for you.
Let the Right One In premieres Oct. 9 on Showtime.
Vampire Academy -- For the teen drama addicts
Is there still a hole in your heart that The Vampire Diaries used to fill? Well, good news. Julie Plec and Marguerite MacIntyre, two of the minds behind the CW hit, have returned to teen vampire drama with Vampire Academy, a Peacock original series based on the novels of the same name by Richelle Mead. Like Mead's novels, Vampire Academy takes you inside the title location, full name St. Vladimir's Academy, a boarding school for vampires. There, you'll follow a young royal vampire and her best friend and would-be guardian as they navigate not just the struggles of day-to-day school life, but the complex and often dangerous layers of vampire society.
If you like teen dramas with loads of worldbuilding and juicy plotting, Vampire Academy just might be your jam. It's got plenty of characters for you to love (and love to hate), storylines to obsess over, and of course, plenty of fangs.
