Bailey Bass, the actor who portrayed Claudia in the first season of Anne Rice's Interview With the Vampire, will not be returning for Season 2.

Replacing Bass in the role of Claudia is Delainey Hayles, as reported by Variety. No single reason was given for Bass' departure, although she stated, "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 went on to express her support for Hayles and the rest of the cast and crew: "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 [Anderson, playing Louis de Pointe du Lac], Sam [Reid, playing Lestat de Lioncourt], the crew and, of course, the wonderful fans."

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Who Is Claudia in Interview With the Vampire?

Interview With the Vampire is based on Anne Rice's 1976 novel of the same name, which was the first of the author's well-loved series The Vampire Chronicles. In the book, Claudia is a five-year-old child who is turned into a vampire by the protagonist, Louis, against the rules of vampire society. As an immortal, Claudia is frozen at the age she was when she was turned, and must pretend to be a human child even while she matures internally and feeds on the blood of the living like any vampire.

In the AMC+ television adaptation of the book, Claudia is turned at 14 rather than five, and Bass was 19 when she was filmed in the role. This change from the source material allowed greater flexibility in the narrative and for the actors, although the recasting of the role does not seem to have been planned.

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Interview With the Vampire premiered in October 2022 and was swiftly renewed for a second season, which begins production next week in Prague, Czechia. It has also received a spinoff series, The Mayfair Witches, which premiered in January 2023. Although the stories of the characters in the two shows are not closely connected, both are based on Anne Rice's works and exist in a shared universe, with the door left open for further adaptations in the future.

As Hayles enters the role of Claudia in Season 2 of Interview With the Vampire, returning stars include Eric Bogosian as Daniel Molloy, Assad Zaman as Armand, and Ben Daniels as Santiago along with Anderson and Reid as the series leads Louis and Lestat. Season 1 is available to watch now on AMC+.

Source: Variety