Sam Reid as Lestat De Lioncourt - Interview with the Vampire _ Season 1, Episode 4, Photo Credit: Alfonso Bresciani/AMC
Now that we’re deep into 2026, fans are eager to learn when The Vampire Lestat will arrive. We might not have a date announcement for a while, but we can examine clues from AMC’s spring lineup to get a sense of what we can expect.
Interview with the Vampire season 1 debuted in October 2022 and season 2 dropped in May 2024. AMC hasn’t given us a specific premiere date for The Vampire Lestat, but they have given us a time frame: Summer 2026.
Knowing that The Vampire Lestat will likely return to its Sunday night timeslot, we can glean some clues about possible premiere dates by looking at the upcoming schedule.
As we take a close look at AMC’s lineup for the next few months, Dark Winds season 4 premieres Sunday, February 15, and the eight-episode run wraps up on Sunday, April 5. The following week’s AMC’s new drama The Audacity premieres on Sunday, April 12. The Audacity also runs for 8 episodes, which puts its season finale on Sunday, May 31.
There are two distinct possibilities here:
Scenario 1: AMC adds The Walking Dead: Dead City season 3 after The Audacity. In this scenario, the new season would premiere on Sunday, June 7, and would likely run for six to eight episodes, putting The Vampire Lestat’s premiere during the first week of August
Scenario 2: AMC puts The Vampire Lestat directly after The Audacity, which would means the premiere would be on Sunday, June 7. If the new season has eight episodes, it would wrap by the end of July, possibly giving fans at San Diego Comic-Con 2026 a chance to see the season finale live with the cast.
My guess is that Scenario 1 is the more likely option, for a number of reasons. AMC can use WonderCon 2026 to heavily promote Dead City, as it has done in the past. Then, the hype machine can utilize SDCC 2026 to build momentum for The Vampire Lestat in late July ahead of the show’s premiere. TVL would wrap up just ahead of New York Comic-Con, giving AMC space to talk about what’s next for the series as it moves into production on the new season. (I also imagine NYCC will heavily hype the final season of Daryl Dixon, Mayfair Witches season 3 and, possibly, Talamasca season 2)
All of this is conjecture at this point, but as we start looking ahead there’s no question that TVL would fit nicely in that August calendar spot.
Let me know what your thoughts are in the comments below!
