“Being a vampire is the backdrop of this human story,” star Jacob Batalon (Reginald Andres) says of Reginald the Vampire (premiering October 5).
Batalon, Em Haine (Sarah Kinney), Savannah Basley (Angela Hibbert), and Mandela Van Peebles (Maurice Miller) and showrunner Harley Peyton sat down with Emily Aslanian in the TV Insider and TV Guide Magazine studio, sponsored by Hollywood unBranded, at 2022 San Diego Comic-Con to preview the new Syfy dramedy series, based on the Fat Vampire books by Johnny B. Truant.
“What’s relatable about [Reginald] is he’s not trying to be anything or be anyone,” Batalon shares. “He’s just genuinely himself in that he may not be the typical hero of the story… he’s very much human in that he’s never realty experienced love. He’s never really experienced what it’s like to have friends, so he’s very much in this gray area of trying to figure life out.”
And he has two women in his life: one who wants to love him and one who wants to kill him. Sarah works with Reginald. “We’re pals, we’re hanging out,” Haine says, with Peyton interjecting, “pals with potential.” And Basley’s Angela is the baddie, the Deacon of the vampire council. “I kind of run stuff in our district,” she says of her character. As for vampire Maurice, Reginald “ends up being my best friend,” which is unexpected, says Van Peebles.
With the many tones, the show sounds like something all fans should enjoy. “Because the show has so many different tones, I described it once as a vampire workplace rom-com comedy-drama and because sometimes all of those things happen in one scene, I’m really happy to see people and eager to see people watch these guys navigate that tone,” Peyton noted. “They hit the marks. They’re doing the jokes, they’re doing the drama, they’re doing all that stuff. When it works, and it works a lot, it’s really cool.”
Watch the full interview above with the cast and showrunner to find out how it all started, about that fake blood (and what it tastes like), the slushies, and much more.
Reginald the Vampire, Series Premiere, Wednesday, October 5, 10/9c, Syfy
