The Secret Order Debuts With Underwhelming Rotten Tomatoes Score

Anne Rice‘s Immortal Universe continues. After the success of Interview With the Vampire and Mayfair Witches, the stories continued with a key organization from Rice’s novels: Talamasca.

Talamasca: The Secret Order is not based on an actual novel, but gathers inspiration from the whole universe. The organization is in charge of controlling and keeping track of all supernatural beings, including vampires, and follows the new character Guy Anatole, as well as featuring some characters already introduced in the Immortal Universe. Ahead of the show’s debut on AMC on Oct. 26, and had an underwhelming 62% debut from the critics on Rotten Tomatoes.

The rating comes from 13 reviews, and five of them are negative. Since the show hasn’t premiered yet, there is no audience rating yet.

Among the positive reviews, Bloody Disgusting’s Daniel Kurland notes “Talamasca: The Secret Order is uniquely positioned to be a pivotal piece of the Immortal Universe’s puzzle with the right planning,” highlighting the show’s success is vital when it comes to “the viability of AMC’s Immortal Universe.” The review points out, “The Secret Order’s compulsion to flesh out its grander universe is frequently the most interesting and most infuriating aspect of the series. Thankfully, there’s still more than enough to bite off in Anne Rice’s Talamasca: The Secret Order so that it feels like a distinct entity — with unique genre sensibilities — and not just the latest piece of AMC’s corporate-driven piece of vampire synergy.”

ScreenRant‘s Sarah Moran admits, “Anne Rice’s Immortal Universe grows with a supernatural spy thriller that’s not terrible, but wouldn’t be nearly as good without William Fichtner,” adding that the spinoff is “an engaging enough spy thriller with the added fun of throwing vampires, witches, and more into the mix, and world-building will be crucial for the future of the Immortal Universe.”

Collider‘s Carly Lane highlights Talamasca: The Secret Order “does plenty to set itself apart in an increasingly tangled supernatural world by way of terrific casting, an espionage-tinted framework, and just enough ties to the rest of the Immortal Universe to whet viewer appetites for more.”

Among the criticism, The Hollywood Reporter‘s Angie Han argues, “With plenty of plot potential but too few characters actually worth giving a damn about, Talamasca fails to conjure any lasting magic.” Geek Vibes Nation’s Michael Cook adds, “Anne Rice’s Talamasca: The Secret Order never reaches the lofty goals of its premise nor the transcendent delights of the series it’s spun out of.”

How Does Talamasca: The Secret Order Compare to Other Immortal Universe Shows?

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Image via AMC

The 62% rating is good enough to receive a “fresh” badge on Rotten Tomatoes, but it’s nothing to write home about. However, the show doesn’t feature the worst ratings, nor the best, in the Immortal Universe. Interview With the Vampire, which kicked off the franchise in 2022, features a near-perfect 99% rating from the critics across its first two seasons. Season 1 had a Certified Fresh 98% score, while Season 2 received a perfect rating. When it comes to the audience, they gave Seasons 1 and 2 a 71% and 83% score on the Popcornmeter, respectively, leading to an overall rating of 77%.

Meanwhile, Mayfair Witches wasn’t as well received, and currently has the lowest score in the franchise, with a 59% score from the critics and 54% from the audience across the first two seasons. However, while Season 1 had a 47% rating from the critics and audiences, Season 2 improved and received positive scores, 71% from the critics and 60% from the audience.

Talamasca: The Secret Order is the third entry in Anne Rice’s Immortal Universe, but executive producer Mark Johnson teased they might continue adding to the franchise. “You bet there is a list. There’s so many good ideas,” Johnson confirmed. “She is an extraordinary writer, and that much more extraordinary when you realize when she was writing — it’s really so far ahead of her time.”

He also added that they have “three or four other titles [and] subjects that we’d like to pursue” based on Rice’s novels. “I go to AMC every three months and say, ‘You ready for another? Ready for another?’ And so we’ll have one soon enough.”

Talamasca: The Secret Order premieres on AMC on Oct. 26 at 9 pm ET/ PT.