The Vampire Lestat Answers This Gross, Age-Old Bathroom Question
After spending two seasons with Louis de Pointe du Lac as the protagonist of Interview with the Vampire, the third season places his maker, Lestat, into the spotlight.
With the series now rebranded as The Vampire Lestat to reflect the Anne Rice book being adapted this season, everything has changed.
Whereas Louis’ recollection of his past was regimented and linear, Lestat is not as conforming, and The Vampire Lestat is a complete change in tone. The more polite of the pair, Louis kept his interview sessions with biographer Daniel Molloy formal and factual. In contrast, Lestat’s account of his history is muddled, messy, and far more honest.
Lestat famously has no filter or impulse control, and as such, his story isn’t afraid to dive into the gory details. This is exemplified beautifully during The Vampire Lestat opening episode, ‘Detroit.’
The Vampire Lestat Explains Vampire Bathroom Etiquette
Thanks primarily to the literature of Anne Rice, it has become part of vampire canon that, when creatures of the night weep, they cry blood.
The trick has been adopted by the True Blood vampires, and many others, and though Anne Rice might be the one that we most attribute the phenomenon to, the first example of a crying vampire came when Christopher Lee’s Dracula got teary during his death scene in Dracula Has Risen from the Grave, way back in 1968.
While audiences have known for decades that vampires are capable of crying, one question that is never addressed is how (and, indeed, if) vampires go to the bathroom. They drink a lot of blood, and one would assume that has to leave the body somehow, but it is a motion that most vampire texts don’t concern themselves with.
In Anne Rice’s The Vampire Chronicles book series, it was explained that vampires are incapable of digesting human food and are also incapable of peeing or pooping. The new season of The Vampire Lestat, however, undoes that in spectacular fashion.
During the opening episode, having previously drunk from drugged-up band groupie Baby Jenks, Lestat is experiencing hallucinations for the first time. As he revels in excess, nature calls, and we see for the first time that not only do vampires pee, but that when they do, it comes out as blood. It makes sense when you consider that humans drink water, and cry and urinate water-based liquids, so why shouldn’t blood drinkers expel blood?
The scene of Lestat standing at the urinal peeing blood is just one of many examples of the tonal shift of the new series, and Lestat addresses this particular process via his narration. He teases that Louis never mentioned it across the massive tomes of his interviews with Daniel Molloy, but yes, vampires do pee — not often, but they do.
The History of Anne Rice on Screen
During her writing career, Anne Rice penned 38 books. Of them, her most famous series is The Vampire Chronicles, but her work doesn’t end there.
While most are familiar with both the original film and current television versions of Interview with the Vampire, and to a lesser extent Queen of the Damned, vampires were not the only supernatural beings that fascinated her.
Shortly after the first season of Interview with the Vampire arrived, there came another entry into AMC’s Immortal Universe: Mayfair Witches. Starring Alexandra Daddario as Rowan Mayfair, the story follows her character as she uncovers her lineage as a powerful witch and the curse that comes with that power.
Then came the short-lived Talamasca: The Secret Order series, which, although not a direct adaptation of Rice’s words, was based around the organisation that watches the likes of Louis, Lestat, and Rowan.
Anne Rice also has a trio of non-supernatural stories that have been adapted for the screen. In 2001 came Feast of All Saints, which sees a biracial man in 19th century New Orleans caught between white privilege and black oppression.
Before that, in 1994, Rice’s Exit to Eden became a comedy caper starring Rosie O’Donnell and Dan Aykroyd. The film was vastly different to the erotic thriller that Rice wrote under the pseudonym of Anne Rampling, with director Garry Marshall adding a whole detective story to Anne’s original tale of BDSM romance.
The final non-vampire adaptation, Cry to Heaven, is yet to be released. Set to drop in late 2026, Cry to Heaven is being directed by Tom Ford, and will star Hunter Schafer, Nicholas Hoult, and musician Adele. The plot charts a venetian nobleman as he rises to fame as a soprano.
Why You Should Be Watching The Vampire Lestat
If you’ve watched and enjoyed the first two seasons of Interview with the Vampire, The Vampire Lestat is essential viewing. An adaptation of Anne Rice’s book of the same name, Lestat really steps into the spotlight in place of Louis.
Set in the aftermath of the release of Daniel Molly’s book, Lestat is struggling with his portrayal and takes over the story in an effort to set the record straight about a few things. Lestat is also seeking stardom, the series taking place as he, and his newly acquired band, take their music on the road.
Although visually and tonally different to what has come before it, The Vampire Lestat is of the same high quality that audiences have come to expect from the show. Outwardly, it might seem like the new season is all about sex, glitter, and shock appeal, but there is once more a significant amount of drama and emotional devastation simmering beneath the surface.
As Lestat’s mask of bravado begins to slip, fans will get to know the character on a more intimate level. Featuring some incredible songs from show composer Daniel Hart, and award-worthy turns from Sam Reid and Jacob Anderson, The Vampire Lestat presents a violent and chaotic continuation of a Gothic romance that has had generations of readers, and now viewers, hooked.
