I Think This Horror Show Is the Most Underappreciated on TV Right Now

On TV these days, a lot of shows try to come off as deep, complex, and thought-provoking, but some just end up focusing on style without substance. However, there’s one show that goes against that trend, and hardly anyone’s paying attention. It tackles obsession, addiction, identity, memory, and guilt with rare clarity. Its whole vibe and world feel heavy, but never just for show. The script is sharp, the dialogue packed with subtext, and every scene feels carefully made to bring out maximum emotional discomfort. This is a show that isn’t afraid to be uncomfortable, passionate, and even ugly. No character is just a villain or a hero – all of them have flaws, and those flaws are always on display. The most impressive part is that it still hasn’t really broken out of its niche. Interview with the Vampire is seriously underappreciated.

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The current take on Anne Rice’s work is, without exaggeration, one of the best-crafted dramas on TV right now, and it’s honestly kind of sad it’s not getting the celebration it deserves. No, I wouldn’t say it’s exactly underrated, but it definitely deserves way more recognition and buzz. AMC didn’t just reimagine the author’s universe with freedom and consistency, they gave us an emotional horror story with standout performances and a bold script that completely ditches the usual polished vampire glam we’ve seen a million times. Maybe Nosferatu was the only big production that really showed these creatures in their raw state, but have you ever stopped to wonder what a predator’s mind like this actually looks like?

What we have here isn’t just a stylish Gothic tale, like many fans of Interview with the Vampire already know, but a story about how love can turn into punishment, how eternity can feel suffocating, and how violence often hides behind tragic romance. Sure, it’s not a plot for everyone, but since it dropped, the show has earned critical praise, award nods, and a fan base that now wants to dive into the books. So why is it still kind of on the sidelines of the hype? It still tries to be modern where it can to reach the audience, but even so, it seems like it doesn’t quite work. Honestly, I don’t understand how so many people keep letting this slip by, or why it still hasn’t been talked about enough given its narrative power.

Maybe part of it is because the show has the guts to dig deep into the tension between beauty and monstrosity (besides the queer aspect). The first season made it clear this wouldn’t be easy watching: Louis (Jacob Anderson), now a Black man in 1910s New Orleans, is front and center. Lestat (Sam Reid), meanwhile, is a charming, manipulative predator with some seriously scary layers of humanity. Their relationship is romantic, but also cruel, toxic, and painfully real. Season 2 only dives deeper into this emotional pit, moving the story to Europe and using flashbacks that don’t lighten the tragedy at all – if anything, they make it more intimate and raw. Personally, I think this is brave and necessary, and it’s exactly what sets this series apart from everything else on TV right now.

Also, Rice’s books are all standalone stories, which could’ve made adapting for TV tricky. To pull it off, the show smartly organizes the plot to make sure no key character is left out, since each book can focus on certain characters and leave others aside (Louis, for example, basically disappears after the first one). Lots of stuff readers expected to only see in future books has already popped up in the first two seasons, creating a continuity that actually makes sense. Yes, the show changes things from the original material to expand and enrich the storyline, but it does it so well that it doesn’t feel boring, wrong, or too far from what fans want. It’s rare to please everyone when you’re walking that tightrope, but I think this is the first time I’ve seen unanimous positive feedback on this matter.

It’s also pretty cool and kind of surprising how the show handles time – both in the story and across historical periods. By switching between the present, where Louis relives his traumas in an interview full of constant clashes with journalist Daniel Molloy (Eric Bogosian), and the past, where every choice drags the weight of regrets, the show builds a structure that forces you to face consequences alongside him (and the others). Nothing here is throwaway or made just to fill an episode. There’s no comic relief, no break in tension.

It’s not just about violence, obviously, but also the emotional weight of decisions, thoughts, and choices. Every reveal hits like a slow, painful sting. I also think that’s why the show still flies under the radar of most people, who are used to faster fixes and more typical story arcs. As a viewer, I feel like this series trusts me to handle complexity – and that’s sadly rare these days. Everything else tends to spoon-feed the audience, and Interview with the Vampire does the opposite, so you’re discovering a lot along with Louis.

Another big point is how much this adaptation modernized the original story in a way that just works. Compared to the Brad Pitt and Tom Cruise movie or the chaotic Queen of the Damned, this show basically saved the franchise when it comes to adaptations. And no, that’s not hype. While the movies stuck to commercial formulas, this TV version goes deep into the characters’ core with emotional depth and freedom we’ve never seen before. I know some people might be nostalgic about the 1994 movie, but when I look at what the show’s doing with character development, LGBTQ+ representation, and especially how it treats immortality as a curse (a big theme in the books), it’s tough to say the old movie comes close.

Maybe the lukewarm reception also comes from how it breaks some norms by putting affection, desire, and trauma front and center, without hiding or softening what these feelings stir up in its characters. And it does that with strong visuals, a nearly theatrical pace, and a soundtrack that amps up the discomfort instead of smoothing it out. Interview with the Vampire is sophisticated without being pretentious, bloody without being gross, emotional without being over the top. But for some reason, it gets labeled as “too niche,” as if psychological horror and gothic melodrama with complex characters are automatically less accessible. I don’t buy that. I think people just aren’t willing to watch something that doesn’t give you answers right away. Sure, there’s some action, but it’s really about pulling you in slowly, which takes focus and patience. The pacing isn’t sluggish, but it just doesn’t rush to entertain you.

But let’s call it what it is: a lot of people still tie this story to the movie and assume the show’s just a fancy retelling of that world. That’s definitely not the case. AMC’s version isn’t about nostalgia or repeats. It keeps the original story’s bones but that’s it. Instead of glorifying eternity, it asks what’s rotten about it and goes even further by updating racial, ethical, and existential issues that were barely touched on in the books, adding new layers of meaning. I’m a fan of the source material, but this take feels way more relevant today, and braver than any other Rice adaptation I’ve seen.

Even with all this, the show’s still one of the biggest examples of being undervalued: people watch it, but they don’t really grasp the depth of the production or appreciate it the way it deserves. Its second season (even more intense, political, and brutal) got rave reviews from critics but still missed out on the big awards (though it did get Emmy nods for Outstanding Period or Fantasy/Sci-Fi Makeup and Hairstyling). Meanwhile, online, it’s a frequent name in “snubbed shows” conversations. Overall, it’s like the series is just too heavy, violent, and raw to get noticed in a world where hype beats quality. But if you watch, you see a storytelling skill that’s rare on TV.

Interview with the Vampire isn’t just a good horror show, but one of the best shows on right now. And I say that with all the confidence of someone who watches a lot and rarely finds something this good.