Mayfair Witches Executive Producer Explains the Challenge of Series' Connection to Interview With the Vampire

With AMC's Immortal Universe based on the works of the late author Anne Rice now two series strong — and with more reportedly in the works — fans of Rice's works have one big request: they want a crossover between Mayfair Witches and Interview With the Vampire. After all, both series generally take place in New Orleans and there is some crossover between the stories of the Mayfair witches and the vampires on the pages of Rice's novels, particularly in the later novels in The Vampire Chronicles. Even those in charge of the show have acknowledged that a crossover of sorts is possible for the series, with series co-creator Esta Spalding even recently noting that there is a character that appears in both shows that no one has figured out yet. Now, however, executive producer Mark Johnson is explaining the challenge to building the connection between the two shows especially since they are very much their own individual entities.

Speaking with Collider, Johnson explained that both Mayfair Witches and Interview With the Vampire are fundamentally different series, both in terms of their story and their audiences but there is some connective tissue, and the trick is finding how to utilize it in a way that makes sense.

"Let's face it, they're radically different. They're almost for different audiences, which is one of the appeals of Anne Rice," Johnson said. "It's a real challenge. You don't want to force them together. But at the same time, you have to say, 'Okay, what does Interview have to do with Mayfair Witches?' At first look, not a lot. They primarily take pace in New Orleans, and there's a sense of the mystery of New Orleans and the fact that New Orleans is probably the least American, American city there is. But how does that al work? One of the things we talk about with all the sets of writers is, 'Is there a character that we can introduce in one show, who appears in the other show? Other than just a couple of locations that are gonna repeat, how are they connected?' It's a genuine challenge, which I welcome. We just have to be careful, so that it's not inorganic."

Johnson has previously explained that, outside of something more direct like a true crossover, there are Easter egg-like connections between the two series while reiterating the independence between the vampires and the witches.

"Some are fun, some are deliberate, and some are almost Easter eggs," Johnson said of shared references in the two series. "But Mayfair Witches is very much its own project and is own series. Obviously, it's connected to Anne Rice's thematic and stylistic concentration, so it's very much part of what she does, but I would say that there's very little deliberately from Interview in Mayfair Witches."

Are there more Anne Rice series in the works?

According to Johnson, there are more series in development for AMC's Immortal Universe.

"We're developing three other things, at the same time, all of them different," Johnson said. "People ask me what these shows have in common, or what these books have in common, and I actually think it's her characters, no matter how tortured or odd. Her vampires, unlike most vampires that we see all the time, are human beings. It's not humans and vampires. They are human beings who happen to be vampires, and they suffer from loss of love, lack of love, and lack of friendship. The idea that we all say, 'Wouldn't it be great to live forever?' of course, that would be terrible. You'd fall in love with your partner, your parents would die, and you'd still be there, the same age."

He went on to explain how the stories about the witches have some of the same themes and then spoke about how, while there's not a book explicitly about the Talamasca, there could be a series about the organization.

"Some of the themes are the same … in Mayfair Witches, there's that whole middle section about the family and you go off to Haiti, and there's a series in there," Johnson said. "Is there a show to be made about Lasher? Is there a show to be made about the Fang Gang? There's no book that is about the Talamasca, but I think there's a great series about the Talamasca. Their job is to monitor these extraordinary events and creatures and not get involved, but to watch. So, I think that answer is yes, this will keep going."

Anne Rice's Mayfair Witches airs Sundays on AMC and AMC+.