Interview With the Vampire Trio Talks Claudia’s Recast, Lestat’s Haunting ‘Return’ and More in Bloody Premiere

Interview With the Vampire is back for another bite.

Sunday’s second season premiere finds Louis and Claudia traversing the European countryside in search of others like them. It’s been four years since the duo left Lestat for dead back in New Orleans, and even though Claudia is still furious with Louis for not burning their maker’s body, she’s not as angry as she once was. Baby vampire, baby steps — makes sense.

Speaking of Claudia, the show reminds viewers about her recast at the top of the premiere, informing us directly that the role will now be played by Delainey Hayles. The child vampire was previously played by Bailey Bass in the AMC drama’s first season.

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“I was so excited [to join the show], but I was also nervous, because I know that recasts are very hard,” Hayles tells TVLine. She credits actors Jacob Anderson (Louis) and Sam Reid (Lestat) with making her transition into the role “super easy,” adding that she also kept Anne Rice’s books close by at all times for reference. “They became like my Bible in a way,” she says. “I kept going back to them so it was clear where I was picking up from.”

Rice’s words gave Hayles a clear guideline for how the character should be portrayed, but she also tried to make it her own by pulling from her own childhood experiences. Specifically, she compares Claudia to one of the Jamaican dolls her grandmother used to collect. “They were kind of creepy,” Hayles admits, “but what’s what I liked about them too. They were just awkward with this unsettling energy, and that’s kind of what I liken Claudia to.”

Speaking of unsettling in a good way, Lestat continues to haunt his lover, appearing to Louis throughout the premiere as a vivid figment of his imagination. Reid tells TVLine that it was definitely “different” playing the character as a vision vs. in the flesh, saying he got to “make more interesting choices” as a result of Lestat’s new status as a… ghost?

“I’m kind of obsessed with logic,” Reid explains. “When I approach a role, I like to find out the logic of the thing. But I don’t have to do that with this one. It doesn’t need to make sense!”

Louis and Claudia do eventually discover other vampires in the woods, but it’s hardly the meet-up they’re hoping for. One of the vamps gets aggressive, forcing Claudia to rip out his eyes. The catch? He’s a child! (Counterpoint: So is she.) Still, the blinded vampire’s mother finishes the job, supposedly sparing her son the inevitable. “How would he hunt?” she asks Louis and Claudia, before throwing herself into a fire as well, bringing their search to a tragically unsuccessful end.

Tragedy also strikes at the shelter where Louis and Claudia are temporarily seeking refuge. A kind woman who takes them in gets bitten by a vampire, but rather than intervening to help her, Louis watches as the authorities arrive and (gulp) behead her. “Humans? Not our problem,” Louis says, as he and Claudia head for their next destination… Paris!

Did you enjoy your long-awaited reunion with Louis, Lestat and Claudia 2.0? Grade Sunday’s Interview With the Vampire season premiere in the poll below, then drop a comment with your full review of the episode.