A media franchise , also known as a multimedia franchise , is a collection of related media in which several derivative works have been produced from an original creative work of fiction, such as a film , a work of literature , a television program , or a video game . Bob Iger , chief executive of the Walt Disney Company , defined the word franchise as "something that creates value across multiple businesses and across multiple territories over a long period of time.”
41-586: Anne Rice's Immortal Universe is an American media franchise and shared universe centered on the 2020s AMC television series adaptations of Anne Rice 's Vampire Chronicles and Lives of the Mayfair Witches supernatural horror novel series. The books, which originated with the 1976 novel Interview with the Vampire , follow vampires and witches in the ancient and modern world. The franchise includes two television series, Interview with
82-548: A Drama Series for the episode "The Son". Jones grew up in the Woodland Hills area of Los Angeles , California , and graduated from El Camino Real High School in 1990. He studied filmmaking and English at Cal State Northridge and graduated from the Yale School of Drama in 2004. This article about an American playwright is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . This article about
123-600: A character or fictional world becoming popular in one medium, and then expanding to others through licensing agreements , with respect to intellectual property in the franchise's characters and settings. As one author explains, "For the studios, a home-run is a film from which a multimedia 'franchise' can be generated; the colossally expensive creation of cross-media conglomerates predicated on synergistic rewards provides an obvious imperative to develop such products." The trend later developed wherein franchises would be launched in multiple forms of media simultaneously; for instance,
164-485: A franchise can even be created, which ultimately leads to the creation of brand worlds. Since the creation of Disneyland in 1955, bringing fictional media franchises to life through the theme parks slowly became increasingly popular as the way to perfectly blend tourism and real-life involvement with media itself. Similar to transmedia, the concept of bringing fictional media into a non-fictional space where fans can immerse themselves in real-life versions of elements from
205-424: A modeling agency, several television shows ( Playboy's Penthouse , in 1959), and even its own television channel . Twenty-five years later, Playboy released private clubs and restaurants, movie theaters, a radio show , direct to video films, music and book publishing (including original works in addition to its anthologies of cartoons, photographs, recipes, advice, articles or fiction that had originally appeared in
246-630: A nationwide concert tour, an American Idol book that made the bestseller list and the film From Justin to Kelly . A transmedia franchise however is often referred to by the simpler term "media franchise". The term media franchise is often used to describe the popular adaptation of a work into films, like the popular Twilight book series that was adapted into the five films of The Twilight Saga . Other neologisms exist to describe various franchise types including metaseries , which can be used to describe works such as Isaac Asimov 's Foundation series . Multimedia franchises usually develop through
287-446: A script adapting Rice's Interview with the Vampire (1976) and its sequel, The Vampire Lestat (1985). In November 2016, Rice announced that the theatrical rights to her novels had reverted to her, and that she and her son, writer Christopher Rice , would be developing and executive producing a potential television series based on her works. In April 2017, they teamed up with Paramount Television and Anonymous Content to develop
328-474: A series order for Interview with the Vampire , a television adaptation of the first half of Rice's 1976 novel, executive produced by Rolin Jones and Mark Johnson . On September 28, 2022, ahead of the series premiere, AMC renewed Interview with the Vampire for a second season which covered the second half of the novel. Season one premiered on AMC on October 2, 2022, with an advance release three days earlier on
369-408: A series, and in early 2018, Bryan Fuller joined the project. On July 17, 2018, it was announced that the series was in development at streaming service Hulu , and that Fuller had departed the production. By December 2019, Hulu's rights had expired, and Rice was shopping a package combining film and TV rights to both The Vampire Chronicles and her related Lives of the Mayfair Witches series. Rice
410-484: Is the Japanese term for a transmedia franchise. The term media mix gained its circulation in late 1980s and is first used to describe adaptations of Sakyo Komatsu 's Japan Sinks , but the origins of the strategy can be traced back to the 1960s with the proliferation of anime , with its interconnection of media and commodity goods. Some of the earlier popular Japanese franchises such as Vampire Hunter D in
451-491: The fantasy and science fiction genres. Similarly, fantasy, science fiction films and television shows are frequently adapted into animated television series , video games, or both. A media franchise does not have to include the same characters or theme, as the brand identity can be the franchise, like Square Enix 's Final Fantasy or the National Lampoon series , and can suffer from critical failures even if
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#1732791487865492-423: The 1980s and Pokémon in the late 1990s, acted as benchmarks in the country's transmedia dominance. The latter in particular began as a video game available on Nintendo 's Game Boy , and crossed through the media of television, film, news, and other non-media related realms, such trading cards, merchandise, and more. A number of Japanese media franchises have gained considerable global popularity, and are among
533-577: The Damned , the series will follow the attempted theft of a painting from the island by a pair of burglars who are unaware of the supernatural nature of its inhabitants. Media franchise A media franchise often consists of cross-marketing across more than one medium. For the owners, the goal of increasing profit through diversity can extend the commercial profitability of the franchise and create strong feelings of identity and ownership in its consumers. Those large groups of dedicated consumers create
574-711: The Vampire and Mayfair Witches . A third, The Talamasca , is in development, focused on the Talamasca , a secret society in Rice's novels who investigate the paranormal. AMC coined the term "Immortal Universe" with the October 2022 release of its Interview with the Vampire series. Notable characters include the vampires Lestat de Lioncourt and Louis de Pointe du Lac , the witch Rowan Mayfair and paranormal investigator and empath Ciprien Grieve . Novels from Rice's The Vampire Chronicles were previously adapted in
615-548: The Vampire series. A second series, Mayfair Witches , debuted in January 2023. The studio created a custom font called Immortal Gothic for the franchise. Two television series make up the Immortal Universe franchise: Interview with the Vampire , and Mayfair Witches . All series in total amount to 23 episodes across three seasons of television. In June 2021, it was announced that AMC had given
656-412: The Vampire series was already in production, but had not yet aired. Mayfair Witches premiered on AMC and AMC+ on January 8, 2023. On February 3, 2023, AMC renewed the series for a second season. The series stars Alexandra Daddario as neurosurgeon Rowan Mayfair, Harry Hamlin as wealthy patriarch Cortland Mayfair, Tongayi Chirisa as Talamasca agent and empath Ciprien Grieve, and Jack Huston as
697-406: The Vampire , for which he serves as showrunner. Jones joined the crew of Friday Night Lights as a writer and supervising producer for the series fourth season in 2009 and wrote the episodes " The Son " and "Laboring". He was nominated for two Writers Guild of America Award for Best Drama Series for his work on the series and received a 2010 Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Writing for
738-540: The day-in-the-life episodes of the many different Real Housewives series. Documentaries and docuseries are other highlights of the non-fiction branch of media franchises, such as the popular Planet Earth series, which serves as both a film and television transmedia franchise. Rolin Jones Rolin B. Jones (born September 22, 1972) is an American playwright and television writer. His plays include The Intelligent Design of Jenny Chow , for which he
779-407: The different media, regardless of the fact that they are being presented in sometimes completely different ways, such as the shared, interweaving storylines and elements of Spider-Man films, television shows, comics and video games. Espen Aarseth describes the financial logic of cost-recovery for expensive productions by identifying that a single medium launch is a lost opportunity, the timeliness of
820-725: The fictional worlds they love, adds to the overall narrative the franchise creates through its other media. Marvel's Avenger's Campus park is one of the many franchise-based theme parks created in recent times, following the creation of The Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal Studio's Islands of Adventure and Star Wars' Galaxy's Edge at Disneyland and Disney World . Media franchises tend to cross over from their original media to other forms. Literary franchises are often transported to film, such as Nancy Drew , Miss Marple , and other popular detectives , as well as popular comic book superheroes . Television and film franchises are often expanded upon in novels , particularly those in
861-470: The film The Matrix Reloaded and the video game Enter the Matrix were produced at the same time, using the same actors on the same sets, and released on the same day. Transmedia franchises occasionally release content through certain media that is not canon to the main or greater story that the franchise is built around, meaning that the elements of said content do not truly exist in the main timeline of
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#1732791487865902-418: The films Interview with the Vampire (1994) and Queen of the Damned (2002). In August 2014, Universal Pictures and Imagine Entertainment acquired the motion picture rights to the entire Vampire Chronicles series, with producers Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci signed to helm the potential film franchise. In May 2016, it was reported that writer–director Josh Boone and Jill Killington had completed
943-537: The first season of Interview with the Vampire included Obsessed with the Vampire , a digital post-show discussion about each new episode, and a podcast in which host Naomi Ekperigin is joined by the actors and writers from the series. In December 2021, it was reported that AMC had given a series order for Mayfair Witches , a television adaptation of Rice's 1990 novel The Witching Hour , written and executive produced by Esta Spalding and Michelle Ashford , and executive produced by Mark Johnson. The Interview with
984-607: The focus on the content of the commodity to "overlapping the commodity image with the character image". The book Anime's Media Mix: Franchising Toys and Characters in Japan, by Marc Steinberg, details the evolution of the media mix in Japan. Long-running franchises were common in the early studio era, when Hollywood studios had actors and directors under long-term contract. In such cases, even lead actors are often replaced as they age, lose interest, or their characters are killed. Spin-offs and adaptations of popular pieces of media within
1025-429: The franchise's fandom , which is the community of fans that indulge in many of its media and are committed to interacting with and keeping up with other consumers. Large franchise-based fandoms have grown to be even more popular in recent years with the rise of social media platforms, as many fans seek to interact with one another for discussion, debate and even to create their own fan-made pieces of media revolving around
1066-405: The franchise, on websites like tumblr , Reddit and Fandom . In the case of successful transmedia franchises, each different medium should expand the target demographic and fandom, build the interest of the consumers and add to the overarching story and narrative of the franchise itself. A connection between the characters, settings, and other elements of the media franchise do still exist within
1107-415: The franchise. Canon content often times breaks continuity, leading fans to speculate or seek to confirm which media are canon and which are not, which can get confusing if the franchise does not provide an answer themselves since entire media can be non-canon to the greater story, with a popular example occurring. On the other hand, specific episodes, volumes or parts of a series can be canon while others in
1148-473: The magazine), footwear, clothing of every kind, jewelry, housewares (lamps, clocks, bedding, glassware), guitars and gambling, playing cards, pinball machines and pet accessories, billiard balls, bedroom appurtenances, enhancements, plus countless other items of merchandise. Non-fiction media franchises also exist in the television and film media, with reality TV being one of the most well-known examples; ranging from competition shows like The Amazing Race to
1189-428: The malevolent spirit Lasher. Recurring roles include Annabeth Gish as Rowan's birth mother Deirdre Mayfair, Beth Grant as Rowan's great aunt Carlotta Mayfair, Erica Gimpel as Rowan's adopted mother Ellie Mayfair and Jen Richards as Cortland's daughter Jojo Mayfair. In the story, Rowan is shocked to learn she is the heiress to a dynasty of powerful witches haunted by a sinister entity called Lasher. As she uncovers
1230-400: The media fictional material is unrelated. Non-fiction literary franchises include the ...For Dummies and The Complete Idiot's Guide to... reference books . An enduring and comprehensive example of a media franchise is Playboy Enterprises , which began expanding well beyond its successful magazine, Playboy , within a few years after its first publication, into such enterprises as
1271-462: The network's streaming service, AMC+ . The series stars Sam Reid as 18th century French vampire Lestat de Lioncourt , Jacob Anderson as his lover, Louis de Pointe du Lac , Eric Bogosian as modern-day journalist Daniel Molloy , and Assad Zaman as ancient vampire Armand . Teenage vampire Claudia is portrayed by Bailey Bass in season one, and by Delainey Hayles in season two. New characters introduced in season two include Ben Daniels as
Immortal Universe - Misplaced Pages Continue
1312-423: The production and release is more important than its integrity, the releases should raise brand awareness and the cross-ability of the work is critical for its success. American Idol was a transmedia franchise from its beginnings, with the first season winner Kelly Clarkson signing with RCA Records and having the release of A Moment Like This becoming a #1 hit on Billboard Hot 100. The success resulted in
1353-525: The same medium are not, such as the fact that only some of the Battlestar Galactica comics are canon, with a large amount of them breaking the continuity of the main story. In Japanese culture and entertainment, media mix ( wasei-eigo : メディアミックス , mediamikkusu ) is a strategy to disperse content across multiple representations: different broadcast media , gaming technologies, cell phones, toys, amusement parks , and other methods. It
1394-476: The secrets of her new family and learns her true nature, she is surveilled, and soon assisted, by an agent of a mysterious organization called the Talamasca . In April 2023, it was announced that AMC was developing a third Immortal Universe series focused on the Talamasca, a secret society featured in Rice's Vampire Chronicles and Mayfair Witches series. In June 2024, it was reported that AMC had greenlit
1435-518: The series, titled Anne Rice's The Talamasca , set to be written and executive produced by showrunners John Lee Hancock and Mark Lafferty. Principal photography for the first season will begin in the Autumn of 2024 in Manchester , England. The season comprises six episodes, set to premiere in 2025. In September, it was announced that Nicholas Denton would portray Guy Anatole. Later that month, it
1476-498: The vampire Santiago , and Roxane Duran as Madeleine . In the story, rakish vampire Lestat comes to 1910 New Orleans and seduces brothel owner Louis, who consents to being made a vampire himself. But Louis struggles with the killing of, and isolation from, humans that his survival now requires, and he grows apart from Lestat. Louis forms a bond with young vampire Claudia, but she proves to be impulsive and reckless, endangering their already fragile family unit. Ancillary material to
1517-477: The world's highest-grossing media franchises . For example, Pokémon 's penetration into the American market of the franchise along with others of Japanese origin, such as Yu-Gi-Oh! , gave rise to the recognition of what is variously called transmedia storytelling , crossmedia, transmediation , media synergy, etc. Researchers argue that the 1963 Tetsuwan Atomu marked a shift in Japanese marketing from
1558-460: The worlds of my two biggest series united under a single roof so that filmmakers could explore the expansive and interconnected universe of my vampires and witches. That dream is now a reality, and the result is one of the most significant and thrilling deals of my long career." Rice died in December 2021. AMC coined the term "Immortal Universe" with the October 2022 release of its Interview with
1599-532: Was a 2006 Pulitzer Prize finalist, The Jammer , which first appeared at the New York Fringe Festival and features a hilarious dedication to the original lead actor, Kevin Rich, and Sovereignty. His work in television includes Showtime 's Weeds and United States of Tara , NBC drama Friday Night Lights , HBO 's Boardwalk Empire and Perry Mason , and AMC 's Interview with
1640-437: Was announced that William Fichtner would portray Jasper and that Elizabeth McGovern would portray Helen. By October, production had begun. In November, it was announced that Maisie Richardson-Sellers had joined the cast as Olive. In April 2023, AMC announced Night Island , a six-part short-form digital series written by Jonathan Ceniceroz. Centered on a luxury resort for vampires featured in Rice's 1988 novel The Queen of
1681-487: Was reportedly asking around $ 30 to $ 40 million, plus a $ 2.5 million buyout of Warner Bros. ' rights, and the new owner would hold the rights in perpetuity, not just as an option. In May 2020, it was announced that AMC Studios had acquired the rights to The Vampire Chronicles and Lives of the Mayfair Witches for developing film and television projects. Rice and her son would serve as executive producers on any projects developed. Rice said, "It's always been my dream to see