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Nicholas Denton (“Dangerous Liaisons”) stars in “Anne Rice’s Talamasca: The Secret Order,” premiering Sunday, Oct. 26, on AMC and the AMC+ streaming service. Nicholas Denton stars in “Anne Rice’s Talamasca: The Secret Order”
Cover Story ‘Order’ amid chaos: Watchers of the supernatural keep peace in ‘Talamasca’ series By Dana Simpson October has arrived. Complete with hefty pumpkins, crisp apples, cool breezes and a colorful, swishing carpet of fallen leaves, it’s easy to see why so many people are enamored with “spooky season.” On AMC, however, spooky season never really ends, with shows such as “Interview with the Vampire” and “Mayfair Witches” available to watch year-round. Anne Rice’s Immortal Universe, which so far includes the two series listed above (each of which currently holds two seasons), expands Sunday, Oct. 26, when “Anne Rice’s Talamasca: The Secret Order” premieres on AMC and the affiliated AMC+ streaming service. Focused on the titular society of watchers, the six-episode series follows members of the Talamasca as they keep a close eye on supernatural beings and try to contain their misdeeds around the world.
Starring Nicholas Denton (“Dangerous Liaisons”) as leading man Guy Anatole, who “on the cusp of graduating law school, [is] approached by a representative of the Talamasca” for the purposes of recruitment, says AMC. “When Guy learns that the Talamasca has been tracking him since his childhood,” the AMC press description continues, “he falls headlong into a world of secret agents and immortal beings who, up to now, have maintained a fragile balance with the mortal world.” The Talamasca was first introduced to Rice readers in the author’s 1988 novel, “Queen of the Damned,” which was subsequently adapted into a film of the same name starring late R&B princess Aaliyah (“Romeo Must Die,” 2000) in 2002. Reportedly founded in 758 CE (according to “The Vampire Book: The Encyclopedia of the Undead” by J. Gordon Melton), the fictional society has “documented a wide va-
riety of phenomena, including vampires” in an “effort to more empirically understand the supernatural world” (per Becket’s 2018 compendium “Anne Rice’s Vampire Chronicles: An Alphabettery”). As such, the organization has appeared in several of Rice’s novels, beginning in the late ‘80s. In the AMC series, the New York City Motherhouse of the Talamasca is led by the cold and calculating Helen, as portrayed by Oscar, BAFTA, Emmy and Golden Globe nominee Elizabeth McGovern (“Downton Abbey”). A “seasoned veteran of the Talamasca,” Helen is a major part of Guy’s recruitment and training while she oversees other members of the group and maintains an acceptable level of order and secrecy. William Fichtner (“Crash,” 2004), meanwhile, portrays Jasper, “a mysterious American who has quietly assumed control and influence over the Talamasca’s London Motherhouse,” thus indicating that the
series plans to take viewers on a journey around the globe, visiting old familiar faces in the Immortal Universe while introducing a few new ones. Among the new additions to the AMC television franchise are Olive (Maisie Richardson-Sellers, “Nine Perfect Strangers”), a “beguiling and ambitious agent of the Talamasca”; Doris (Celine Buckens, “Warrior”), a strong-willed, old soul who “lives with a coven of witches on a houseboat”; and Burton (Jason Schwartzman, “Rushmore,” 1998), a “charming, rakish vampire” who leads a very elite Upper West Side existence. Don’t miss your chance to be a part of an underground society of watchers when “Anne Rice’s Talamasca: The Secret Order” premieres Sunday, Oct. 26, on AMC and AMC+. For those who simply cannot wait, why not get a head start on your research? Your secure agent “command center” awaits at Talamas.ca.