‘Talamasca: The Secret Order’ Sets a New Stage for the Anne Rice Immortal Universe

Tony Sokol

AMC is inducting an overseer to the Anne Rice Immortal Universe. “Talamasca: The Secret Order” bridges “Interview with the Vampire” and “The Mayfair Witches” through characters who can pass in both worlds. To a point, because if they are discovered, there might be hell to pay. The series tells the story of an ancient community of gifted scholars formed to keep watch over supernatural events and beings.

The Talamasca could be the most trusted or deceitful organization of the lesser-known world. The order may have devolved into a league of blackmailers who sell archaic knowledge to the highest bidder, or conspire for its protection. In either case, the watchers act more like cross-border espionage agents, and their tactics might not sit well in international courts or with infernal affairs. This deviates from the group’s mission statement in Rice’s books. The distinction is the problem because the novels challenge the norms of television. The alternative is to adhere to the paradigm of more of the same. 

“Talamasca” is the first original series of the Anne Rice Immortal Universe. The others are based on Rice’s books, which viewers can follow, and aficionados will critique for any deviation from the source material. The Talamasca organization appears in “The Queen of the Damned,” “The Tale of the Body Thief” and the “Mayfair Witches” trilogy, but in transitory positionings. To ease the acclimation, the series begins with the recruit of Guy Anatole (Nicholas Denton), who was born to be a member of the prestigious clandestine society. Guy can read minds, including the thoughts of supernatural creatures like vampires. Guy could be a brilliant lawyer, one of the best in the world, and knows it. Everything seems to be an inconvenience for the gifted recruit with everything to lose. He almost grows on you.

To further cement “Talamasca” in the foundation for AMC’s immortal lineup, crossovers begin almost immediately. Different characters from other Anne Rice Universe series show up in small, but pivotal, roles, with a promise of more to come. Daniel Malloy (Eric Bogosian) and Raglan James (Justin Kirk) bring familiarity to the new series, but estrangement to the young recruit. None are cameos, as they move the story in unexpected ways.

The investigative journalist shows up in the back alley of a bookstore to tell Guy, “They’re using you, kid.” But the audience cannot pinpoint where in the “Interview with the Vampire” timeline Malloy sits, besides after his book is published. In Rice’s novels, Lestat refers to Raglan as the “little mortal bastard” who stalks him “like some cheap vampire-hunter in a bad movie, with no respect for the mysterious at all.” Raglan has since learned the power of mystery, and maintains an amazing poker face throughout all his deceptions. Kirk is always fun to watch, claiming the duplicity as his own.

Elizabeth McGovern plays Helen, who runs the Talamasca New York Motherhouse. High in the order’s hierarchy, Helen still has no clue what is really going on, and she’s been in the order since undergoing experiments as a child. Helen performs an ambiguous role, often appearing to want to push her new protégé into dangerous situations, yet taking the fall for Guy’s indiscretions. At odds with the order’s executives, but powerful enough to get the vampire Burton (Jason Schwartzman) a penthouse suite in New York City’s Dakota building, Helen is a known enigma. McGovern’s onscreen history is a dossier of enigmatic characters, allowing Helen to deftly hide motivations in plain sight.

Jasper (William Fichtner) is a vampire who does not appear in the books, but wears the heavy crown of Rice’s most remorseful eternals. Jasper is not a reluctant bloodsucker, he is actually quite vicious and bloodthirsty, especially in business. But when Jasper sees a more ancient vampire drained of his life blood for profit, he takes it very personally. Fichtner allows a wry good nature to provoke deeply unsettling reactions. Jasper is very charismatic, and all the more dangerous because of it. An exciting character to watch.

Many new faces wear two. Olive (Maisie Richardson-Sellers) is Guy’s handler, a witch with a much deeper dossier and credentials reaching far into the British Intelligence community. Richardson-Sellers brings the inscrutable magic honed since her work on “Vampire Diaries.” Doris (Céline Buckens) begins as a shadow figure, suspected by the police, a savior for Guy, and bad luck for everyone who comes close. She lives on a houseboat with a coven of witches. Both double as efficient fighters, excelling at hand-to-hand combat, with one adding a little more bite to the attack. Unraveling mysteries is the most consistently entertaining pastime in the Talamasca waiting room.

A doomed vampire in episode three remembers riding on a horse at the age of 11 or 12. The animal gets spooked, and blasts off running wildly. The child knows not to lose control, and struggles to maintain it. But when he lets go, he becomes one with the horse, the old vampire remembers he’s never felt more alive. Not before, nor since, and he’s lived an eternity. “Talamasca: The Secret Order” never finds this abandon. The cloak and dagger suspense requires a more buttoned-down approach, which offers a new take on AMC’s adaptations of the Anne Rice properties, but threatens a sameness to supernatural investigative procedurals.

“Talamasca: The Secret Order” melds the horror, spy, and conspiracy genres well, but risks falling into traps and tropes of each. It should only fall into those of Rice’s books, without the revisionist moralizing of containment on feral creatures beyond nature. Humans can only be so scary. The terror lies in the sins of the monsters.

“Talamasca: The Secret Order” premieres Oct. 26 and airs Sundays at 9 p.m. ET on AMC.