Is this AMC’s attempt at a revamp? Per Deadline, Interview With the Vampire has recast the role of teenage vampire Claudia in the second season of the show based on Anne Rice’s novel of the same name. “Bailey Bass is a talented actor who did a remarkable job bringing the character of Claudia to life in Anne Rice’s Interview with the Vampire. For a variety of reasons, Delainey Hayles will appear as Claudia in season two,†AMC said in a statement. “We are grateful for Bailey’s unforgettable performance in season one and wish her nothing but the best.†Bass, who stars as Tsireya in James Cameron’s Avatar franchise, issued a similar statement about her departure from the character previously played by Kirsten Dunst in the 1994 movie adaptation. “Due to a variety of unforeseen circumstances I’m unable to return to Anne Rice’s Interview with the Vampire for the second season,†she said. “Playing Claudia has been a dream role and an incredible ride. I wish Delainey the best of luck in taking over. I cannot wait to watch. I’m extremely appreciative of AMC, the producers, Jacob, Sam, the crew and, of course, the wonderful fans.â€
Production on the eight-episode second season will reportedly start next week in Prague, with further filming scheduled in both Paris and New Orleans. Mark Johnson (Breaking Bad, Better Call Saul) and showrunner Rolin Jones (Perry Mason) will executive produce. We’ll have to see how much of an impact replacing Bass will have, given that Claudia was a pretty key character. Along with Louis de Pointe du Lac (Jacob Anderson) and Lestat de Lioncourt (Sam Reid), she made up the show’s main trio of vamps, whose lives are recounted to journalist Daniel Molloy (Eric Bogosian). Deadline previously reported that Ben Daniels will also join season two as Santiago, a thespian who leads the Theatre des Vampires and becomes suspicious of Louis and Claudia. Other cast members in the first season included Assad Zaman, Kalyne Coleman, and Rae Dawn Chong, among others. We don’t know who will return, but hopefully none of their roles are, uh, at stake.