Dracula is ready to return to the small screen, but this time the famous Count may not be the true protagonist of the story. Ryan Murphy, creator of American Horror Story, is indeed working on Brides of Blood, a new series dedicated to Bram Stoker’s vampire universe and, in particular, to the mysterious Brides of Dracula.
Ryan Murphy discusses his personal connection to Dracula
It was Murphy himself who confirmed the project during an interview with Vanity Fair. The producer explained that he is developing a vampire story titled Brides of Blood, conceived also with the aim of paying homage to his grandmother and to one of the passions they shared. Murphy recalled that his grandmother’s two favorite genres were musical theater and Dracula. This memory has therefore played a significant role in his relationship with this imagery and seems to have contributed to the birth of the new series. The producer had already hinted at his intention to tell a vampire tale and had revealed that filming would begin in Europe in December. Now the confirmation has arrived.
Murphy’s interest in vampires is not a novelty. In American Horror Story: Hotel, the fifth season of the anthology series, the Afflicted appeared, blood-bound creatures linked to the figure of the Countess, played by Lady Gaga. Even the first part of the tenth season had introduced the Flesh Phantoms, beings transformed after taking a mysterious black pill called Muse.
The first details of Brides of Blood, the series about Dracula’s Brides that was missing
Plot details are still extremely scarce, but the title Brides of Blood clearly signals the direction Ryan Murphy has chosen. At the center of the story should be Dracula’s three Brides, the captivating and unsettling vampires who in Bram Stoker’s original novel live with the Count in his castle in Transylvania. Published in 1897, Dracula gave rise to one of the best-known figures in Gothic literature, who over the years has become a constant presence in cinema and on television. Bela Lugosi, Christopher Lee, Gary Oldman and Claes Bang are just a few of the actors who have portrayed the Count on the big or small screen, while the character has subsequently been reinvented in countless ways. His Brides, by contrast, have almost always remained on the margins of the many reinterpretations of the myth.
Who are Dracula’s three Brides?
In Bram Stoker’s novel, the Brides are three seductive and menacing vampires who live in Dracula’s castle in Transylvania. Their presence helps create the gothic and unsettling atmosphere of the story, but the novel does not allocate them the same space as the Count, leaving many aspects of their figures unexplored. Brides of Blood could therefore overturn the traditional perspective of the myth, turning three secondary characters into the protagonists of a new story. It wouldn’t be the first time the Brides have arrived on screen: in 1960 the film The Brides of Dracula, with Peter Cushing as Abraham Van Helsing, had already brought their imagery to cinema, but never as Murphy intends.
When will Brides of Blood be released?
At present, neither the cast of Brides of Blood nor the distribution platform or an official date have been announced. The most concrete detail concerns filming, which is expected to begin in Europe in December 2026. Murphy is meanwhile busy with a number of other projects. The thirteenth season of American Horror Story is currently airing, while the second season of All’s Fair is scheduled for November 5. Netflix has also confirmed the second season of The Watcher, which will go into production with Ian Brennan as showrunner and Murphy once again involved as an executive producer. Finally, the writer has recently revealed that he is working on the screenplay for a potential reboot of Glee, one of his most successful series.
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