‘Talamasca’: the dark Anne Rice adaptation is now streaming on Netflix
Netflix has finally brought Talamasca: The Secret Order into its Anne Rice line-up, and fans have every excuse to stick their noses in. But calling it a straight book adaptation would be pushing it, mind you, as the Talamasca has appeared throughout Rice’s Vampire Chronicles and Lives of the Mayfair Witches rather than in a standalone novel of its own.
The series puts the Talamasca, a secret organisation that has long operated in the shadows of Anne Rice’s supernatural universe, right at the centre of the story. Not so much of a secret for us, eh?
Our protagonist is Guy Anatole (Nicholas Denton), a clairvoyant fresh out of law school who thinks he has life sorted. But just then, Helen (Elizabeth McGovern), the leader of the Talamasca’s New York Motherhouse, turns up, and that plan goes straight out the window. She offers Guy a job with an organisation he has never heard of, despite knowing much about him. Well, as long as the pay’s good, who cares?
But this is not some office job. The Talamasca watches the supernatural world and enters the picture when things get out of hand. Guy thinks the whole thing sounds ridiculous until Helen introduces him to Burton, Jason Schwartzman’s 384-year-old vampire. Enough proof for you, Guy!
However, things soon become personal for Guy when he learns the organisation has watched him since childhood, and the mother he thought was dead may still be alive.
He finds her name in Daniel Molloy’s in-universe book Interview with the Vampire, which gives him one very good reason to join the Talamasca. Our guy wants answers now, and frankly, who can blame him?
Meanwhile, the Talamasca is having a nightmare. Jasper, a vampire played by William Fichtner, has taken control of the London Motherhouse, which leaves Guy tangled up in something far more dangerous than the job he thought he was taking. At this point, that boring law-firm future is starting to look rather appealing.
Anne Rice fans will spot familiar faces too. Eric Bogosian returns as Daniel Molloy from Interview with the Vampire, while Justin Kirk reprises his role as Raglan James. Maisie Richardson-Sellers, meanwhile, joins the universe as Talamasca agent Olive. Those connections help Talamasca feel properly stitched into Rice’s wider supernatural world rather than like a spin-off floating about on its own.
All six episodes are on Netflix, alongside Interview with the Vampire and Mayfair Witches. Go on then, down the rabbit hole you go.