On October 27, 2025, AMC premiered its latest foray into the supernatural with "Talamasca: The Secret Order," the third series in its ambitious Immortal Universe built from the novels of Anne Rice. Following in the footsteps of the critically acclaimed "Interview With the Vampire" and the more divisive "Mayfair Witches," this new show attempts to shine a spotlight on the enigmatic society known as the Talamasca—a secret order that has long observed, and sometimes interfered with, the affairs of vampires, witches, ghosts, and demons.
The series opens with a tense, shadowy scene in East London. A woman, sensing danger as she tries to deliver sensitive data, chooses to sacrifice herself rather than be captured by the Immortals pursuing her. This dramatic act sets the tone for the show’s world—a place where the boundary between the living and the supernatural is not just thin, but actively patrolled by those who know what lurks on the other side.
Back in New York, Helen (played by Elizabeth McGovern), the director of the Talamasca’s local motherhouse, receives grim news of her agent’s demise. The loss isn’t just personal; it signals that the Talamasca’s long-standing adversary, the vampire Jasper (William Fichtner), is drawing closer. Helen, determined and unflappable, begins seeking a replacement. Her search leads her to Guy Anatole (Nicholas Denton), a law school graduate whose life has been marked by hardship—his father vanished at birth, and his mother, presumed dead from a heroin overdose, left him to the foster system. Unbeknownst to Guy, the Talamasca has been quietly funding his education, aware of his latent telekinetic and clairvoyant abilities.
Helen’s recruitment of Guy is both pragmatic and urgent. She offers him $5,000 just to listen to her pitch, a sum he can hardly refuse given his looming eviction. Guy, skeptical but desperate, soon finds himself plunged into a world that defies explanation. As he learns about his abilities and the Talamasca’s shadowy mission, he’s introduced to a gallery of characters who blur the lines between ally and adversary. Among them is Jason Schwartzman’s Burton, a vampire who serves as both a warning and a guide, ensuring Guy understands the precariousness of his new role. According to ScreenRant, "Burton acts as a perfect example of the supernatural as Guy steps foot into this new world. Friendly yet snarky, he firmly ensures Guy knows the limits of his powers, but does so as a warning for his protection."
Guy’s journey is not that of a reluctant hero motivated by altruism. Initially, he’s in it for the money. But as the secrets of his past begin to unravel—including the shocking revelation that his real mother is alive—his motivations become more personal. His quest leads him to confront Daniel Molloy (Eric Bogosian), the famed author of "Interview With the Vampire," whose own ties to the Immortal Universe provide a clever bridge to the franchise’s earlier successes. This crossover, as noted by Variety, is one of the show’s "bright spots," even if it doesn’t fully rescue the series from its narrative stumbles.
The show’s structure takes on the trappings of a spy thriller, especially as Guy is dispatched to London to investigate the rogue Talamasca branch and the mysterious "752 group." His mission is anything but glamorous; he’s forced to blend in by handing out flyers for a strip club, waiting for coded signals from the local Talamasca. The espionage elements add a new flavor to the Immortal Universe, though not all critics are convinced it works. Variety describes the season as "a disjointed and muddled attempt to turn Rice’s centuries-old secret society into a vehicle for a half-hearted spy thriller."
Despite its uneven pacing and sometimes generic setup, "Talamasca: The Secret Order" is buoyed by intriguing mysteries and a willingness to expand on Anne Rice’s original lore. The show’s central MacGuffin is the "752," a backup archive of the Talamasca’s ancient records, lost in a fire decades ago. Both Helen and Jasper are racing to recover it, each for their own reasons. Jasper, as portrayed by Fichtner, is a silent but menacing presence, orchestrating events from the shadows and commanding a basement full of monstrous humanoids whose true nature remains tantalizingly unclear. As ScreenRant observes, "William Fichtner’s vampire Jasper is secretly controlling events from the shadows with monstrous humanoids in a basement. Though whether they're vampires or something more sinister remains unknown."
The show is not without its quirks. Guy’s everyman persona makes him a relatable protagonist, but his journey is at times undermined by odd narrative choices—such as a nightclub sequence in episode two that feels out of place and confusing. Still, the series manages to maintain suspense, particularly with its cliffhanger endings and the constant shifting of allegiances among its cast. According to Decider, "Helen, Jasper and everyone else that is embedded in the society are all mysterious, and they’ll likely stay that way. That’s not an altogether bad thing, given how mysterious the society is, but it definitely puts viewers at a distance from the story that needs to be made up with more information about Guy and some of the people he encounters while undercover."
Critical reception has been mixed. Some, like ScreenRant, see potential in the show’s use of established lore and its willingness to chart new territory: "With its first two episodes, Talamasca: The Secret Order delivered a somewhat inconsistent but overall compelling start to the Immortal Universe's expansion into TV show originals." Others, like Variety, are less forgiving, lamenting the show’s lack of momentum and clarity: "With 'Talamasca,' the underwhelming entries in the Immortal Universe now outnumber the exciting ones."
For fans of Anne Rice and AMC’s Immortal Universe, "Talamasca: The Secret Order" offers a fresh—if imperfect—perspective on a world teeming with supernatural intrigue. With new episodes scheduled to air through November, viewers can expect more twists, mysteries, and perhaps a few answers to the many questions the show poses. Whether "Talamasca" will ultimately earn its place alongside "Interview With the Vampire" as a franchise highlight remains to be seen. For now, it stands as a testament to AMC’s willingness to take risks in expanding Rice’s beloved universe, for better or worse.
