Based on Anne Rice's series of "The Vampire Chronicles" novels, the property (previously adapted as a film in 1994) eventually turned to television. Anne Rice herself, as well as her son Christopher served as executive producers, and the series eventually landed at AMC. Rolin Jones led as show-runner, with Mark Johnson as lead producer, and Alan Taylor directing the opening episodes. The first season of the show adapts half of Rice's seminal novel, telling the twisted love story between the vampires Louis and Lestat, set in 1910's New Orleans, but framed by a journalist's investigation in the present day (both timelines updated by a fair margin from their original book chronology). The show debuted in the fall of 2022 and was a hit, a richly complex and layered text for fan's of Rice's mythology, with incredible performances, rich characterization and an intoxicating aesthetic. Though some elements in the story were changed, those changes bring the show to life in a vibrant new way, centering issues of race and queer sexuality, bringing to the forefront themes that were only metaphorically alluded to or downplayed altogether in previous adaptations. For my money, it is a wildly intelligent and successful adaptation, and one of my favorite shows ever made.
Reuniting with Rolin Jones was American composer Daniel Hart, a violinist and rock artist turned film composer, most known for his collaborations with director David Lowery. Hart's music is often very cerebral, textural and experimental, and that applies here, though overlaid with a rich sense of classical and gothic, from the richly romantic sweep to blood-curdling terror. Hart's score is largely centered around strings, often creating impressively unique and experimental sonic textures that create a constant sense of tension, unease, of breath, whispers, of desire, or rage. The score is also deeply melodic, with core sounds or themes for the main family (Louis, Lestat, and Claudia), as well as a stunning love theme. The music perfectly captures the depth of the show, never giving you quite what you expect, but always elevating the experience, enveloping you in a sonic and tonal world that is unique, sensual and utterly mesmerizing.
Season 1
The score albums for the series were released by Milan Records. Season 1 featured just under an hour of music on album. I'm delighted to present a total of eleven covers for the first season.
The first six covers all feature official marketing materials. Most required the usual--image enhancement, paint-out's or patching together of different parts of the image as needed.
Covers 7 and 8 feature some custom edits. For Cover 7, my thought was to feature a title screen card from each of the different seasons. But the only image I found for Season 1 was extremely dark, and going to be hard to built out into a taller image, so here I cheated and opted to just make my own using a similar New Orleans-inspired background.
Cover 8 was just a fun little experiment, using a set photography, and trying to recreate a daguerrotype look for the family portrait, a brief moment of happiness before more chaos ensues for the characters.
Last but definitely not least, Covers 9 - 11 feature original fan art that I stumbled across on Instagram by an artist who goes by the name of Haflacky. Their collection mostly feature queer fan art from various properties, but their illustrations for this show are just stunning, and I knew they needed to be featured here! A few edits were required here and there, such as in the middle cover (a re-imagining of a poster from the Tom Cruise version), where I tilted and shifted Lestat down closer to Louis to better fit the needed framing.
Hope you enjoy the collection. This is truly a stunning show, and I'm delighted to present my own small contribution to it.
Keep and eye out for upcoming seasons!
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