True Blood is an American fantasy horror drama television series created and produced by Alan Ball. It is based on The Southern Vampire Mysteries, a book series written by Charlaine Harris.
The show follows Sookie Stackhouse (played by Anna Paquin), a waitress who can hear thoughts in the minds of others. She lives in a fictional small town called Bon Temps, Louisiana. The story begins two years after the invention of a man-made blood product called "Tru Blood," which allows vampires to live openly among humans. The series explores the challenges vampires face as they try to gain equal rights and fit in with humans, while groups that oppose vampires grow stronger. Sookie's life changes when she falls in love with Bill Compton (played by Stephen Moyer), a 174-year-old vampire. This relationship forces her to deal with new challenges in love and relationships.
The show was broadcast on HBO, a premium cable network in the United States. It was made by HBO in partnership with Alan Ball's production company, Your Face Goes Here Entertainment. True Blood first aired on September 7, 2008, and ended on August 24, 2014. It has seven seasons and 80 episodes. The first five seasons received praise from critics and won or were nominated for awards, including a Golden Globe and an Emmy.
Series overview
The series is set in a fictional world where vampires have always lived, but most humans did not know about them until two years before the show began. At that time, Japanese scientists created synthetic blood called "Tru Blood," which allowed vampires to survive without drinking human blood. This change let vampires reveal themselves to the public, an event known as the "Great Revelation." This event divided vampires into two groups: some wanted to live with humans and fight for rights and acceptance, while others believed humans and vampires could never live together because vampires are naturally violent. Humans also had different opinions: some wanted to accept vampires and give them rights, while others saw them as dangerous creatures that should be destroyed. The series also introduces other supernatural beings, including shapeshifters, skinwalkers, werewolves, werepanthers, demons, zombies, faeries, witches, and a maenad.
The story follows Sookie Stackhouse (played by Anna Paquin), a human-faerie hybrid who can read minds. She works as a waitress at Merlotte's Bar and Grill in the small town of Bon Temps, Louisiana, owned by Sam Merlotte (Sam Trammell), a shapeshifter who keeps his secret hidden. Other important characters include Bill Compton (Stephen Moyer), a 173-year-old vampire returning to his old home after losing his last family member; Tara Thornton (Rutina Wesley), Sookie's strong-willed but unsure friend; Jason (Ryan Kwanten), Sookie's brother who often dates many women; Eric Northman (Alexander Skarsgård), a 1,000-year-old vampire and sheriff in his region; and Lafayette Reynolds (Nelsan Ellis), a cook, drug dealer, and medium who helps connect with the supernatural. The show discusses real-world issues such as fighting for equal rights, discrimination, violence against minorities and LGBTQ+ people, drug addiction, the role of religion, how the media influences people, the search for personal identity, and the importance of family.
Season synopses
The first season's main mystery involves the murders of women connected to Sookie's brother, Jason. Maudette Pickens and Dawn Green are both strangled shortly after spending time alone with him. Detective Bellefleur believes Jason is the killer, but the town sheriff does not suspect him. Soon after, Sookie's grandmother is murdered. Following the murders, Jason becomes addicted to vampire blood and has a brief relationship with another addict, Amy Burley, who is later killed. The season also explores Sookie's relationship with Bill and Sam's relationship with Sookie's friend Tara. Bill explains vampire rules to Sookie and, after killing a vampire to protect her, is forced to turn a young girl named Jessica into a vampire as punishment. Jessica, who is immature at first, begins to grow up under Bill's care. At the end of the season, it is revealed that Arlene Fowler's fiancé, Rene Lenier, has been killing women linked to vampires. He is actually a man named Drew Marshall who created a false identity, including a fake Cajun accent. The season ends with a body found in Detective Andy Bellefleur's car at Merlotte's parking lot.
The second season loosely follows the plot of the second novel in The Southern Vampire Mysteries, Living Dead in Dallas. The character Sophie-Anne Leclerq, first introduced in the sixth novel Definitely Dead, appears as a major supporting character. The main theme involves the disappearance of Godric, a 2,000-year-old vampire sheriff of Area 9. Eric asks Sookie and Bill for help finding Godric in Dallas. Their paths cross Jason, who is searching for purpose through the Fellowship of the Sun, a church that opposes vampires. Another theme focuses on a maenad named Maryann, who visits Bon Temps after Tara attracts her attention. Maryann is connected to Sam's past and knows his true identity as a shapeshifter. Her influence causes chaos in the town. At the end of the season, Bill proposes to Sookie but is kidnapped by unknown people when Sookie goes to the bathroom to think about his proposal.
The third season loosely follows the plot of the third novel in The Southern Vampire Mysteries, Club Dead, and introduces werewolves through Alcide, a werewolf hired by Eric to help Sookie find Bill. It also introduces Russell Edgington, the Vampire King of Mississippi, who wants to overthrow the Vampire Authority. Characters from the fourth novel Dead to the World appear, including Crystal Norris as Jason's love interest, her family of werepanthers from Hotshot, and Sookie's "faerie godmother," Claudine. Later in the season, Sookie's heritage as part faerie is revealed, a key plot point from the eighth and ninth novels. The season ends with Jason caring for the werepanthers of Hotshot, Tara leaving Bon Temps after a traumatic experience with a vampire, Sookie learning Bill was sent to Bon Temps by the Vampire Queen of Louisiana, Sam shooting his brother, Tommy, and Hoyt and Jessica moving in together. The final scene shows Claudine taking Sookie to the land of Faerie.
A group of witches, led by Marnie, threatens vampires by practicing necromancy. Sookie returns to Bon Temps after a year (though she only felt it was a few minutes in Faerie) to find Bill as the new King of Louisiana and her brother and friends had given up hope of finding her. A powerful 16th-century necromancer named Antonia takes control of Marnie's body to seek revenge on vampires. Sookie begins a relationship with Eric, who has amnesia caused by a spell from Antonia/Marnie. Antonia eventually stops her harmful actions, but Marnie, addicted to Antonia's power, forces her to stay. Subplots include Lafayette learning about magic and his role as a medium, Sam's family issues, Alcide's troubled relationship with Debbie, and Jason, Hoyt, and Jessica's love triangle. The finale includes cliffhangers like a warning from Rene's ghost about Terry causing trouble for Arlene, Russell Edgington's escape, Steve Newlin's return as a vampire, and Tara being shot.
The season begins with Sookie and Lafayette asking Pam to turn Tara into a vampire. Bill and Eric are captured by the Vampire Authority for killing Nan Flanagan. They are nearly sentenced to death by the Guardian, Roman, until they reveal Russell Edgington is alive. With Sookie's help, they find Russell and bring him in. Russell, along with Steve Newlin, Salome, and Eric's sister Nora, challenges the Vampire Authority's values, treating humans as food. Meanwhile, Alcide struggles to become pack-master, Terry deals with guilt from a crime in Iraq, and Tara adjusts to life as a vampire. Jason and Sookie discover their parents were killed by a vampire named Warlow. Hoyt joins a hate group before leaving for Alaska, Andy becomes a family man, and Lafayette deals with powers given by Jesus. The season ends with the Vampire Authority destroyed during the True Blood crisis, and Bill drinking Lilith's sacred blood, becoming a powerful vampire reincarnation of Lilith ("Billith").
The sixth season of True Blood premiered on June 16, 2013. After Alan Ball left the show, Brian Buckner became the new showrunner. This season focuses on Bill's abilities after drinking Lilith's blood. Sookie and Jason search for Warlow, the vampire who killed their parents, with help from Niall, their fairy grandfather, while Louisiana governor Burrell campaigns to eliminate all vampires with Sarah Newlin. Sam and Alcide protect Emma; Terry struggles with guilt after killing Patrick; and Andy raises his fairy daughters. Eric turns the governor's daughter, Willa, into a vampire to stop Burrell's campaign, but she is sent to a vampire camp with Eric, Pam, Jessica, and Tara. Bill asks Sookie for help after she considers becoming Warlow's vampire-fairy bride. Eric discovers Sarah Newlin created a virus to kill vampires, and Bill offers his blood to infected vampires to let them walk in daylight. The season ends six months later with Sookie dating Alcide, Bill publishing a book about Lilith's blood, Sam becoming mayor of Bon Temps and selling his bar to Arlene, and infected vampires heading to a human-vampire barbecue.
The final season premiered on June 22, 2014, with the last episode airing on August 24. In this season, Bon Temps is attacked by vampires infected with a virus created in the previous season.
Cast
True Blood features a large group of main characters and a changing set of supporting characters. The show is set in the fictional town of Bon Temps, Louisiana, but many of the actors come from outside the United States. In an interview, the show's creator, Charlaine Harris, said she did not intentionally choose non-American actors but was willing to travel to find the best fit for each role. She emphasized that the focus was on finding actors who could bring the characters to life, not on matching the book's descriptions. Harris noted that the show's characters and stories differ from the books, and she appreciated how the writers adapted her work.
The first season introduces key characters through connected storylines centered on the Bon Temps bar "Merlotte's." The main character, Sookie Stackhouse (played by Anna Paquin), is a waitress with the ability to read minds. In the first episode, she saves a vampire, Bill Compton (Stephen Moyer), from being attacked by a local couple. Through her relationship with Bill, viewers learn about vampire culture, including their weaknesses, such as sensitivity to silver and sunlight.
The main plot of the first season involves the murder of several women connected to Sookie's brother, Jason (Ryan Kwanten). The victims include Maudette Pickens, Dawn Green, Adele (Sookie's grandmother), and Amy Burley. Although Jason is innocent, he is wrongly suspected by Detective Andy Bellefleur (Chris Bauer) and Sheriff Bud Dearborne (William Sanderson). Jason's friends, Hoyt Fortenberry and Rene Lenier, support him. Rene is later revealed as the killer and is killed in a confrontation with Sookie.
A secondary storyline follows Sookie's friend Tara Thornton (Rutina Wesley). Tara is hired as a bartender at Merlotte's by Sam Merlotte (Sam Trammell), a shapeshifter and Sookie's admirer. Tara's story includes her struggles with her abusive mother, Lettie Mae, and her own personal challenges. During the season, Lettie Mae becomes sober, but Tara's life worsens, leading her to move in with a social worker named Maryann Forrester. While staying with Maryann, Tara meets Eggs Benedict Talley, whom she becomes attracted to.
Another major plotline involves Sookie and Bill's relationship, which brings them into contact with vampire society. Bill takes Sookie to the vampire bar "Fangtasia," where she meets Eric Northman (Alexander Skarsgård), the vampire sheriff of Louisiana's "Area 5." Eric is interested in Sookie's abilities, but his assistant, Pam (Kristin Bauer), is not. Eric hires Sookie to find a thief, but the thief tries to kill her. Bill saves her by killing the thief, which leads to his punishment: transforming a human named Jessica Hamby into a vampire.
A secondary storyline in the first season focuses on the conflict between humans and vampires. While some humans are attracted to vampires, others oppose granting them equal rights. This is shown through the "Fellowship of the Sun," a church that opposes vampires. The church becomes more prominent in later seasons, led by Reverend Steve Newlin after a mysterious accident involving his family.
In the second season, the influence of Maryann Forrester and the human-vampire conflict grow. Most characters from the first season return, and new characters are introduced. The interconnected storytelling continues, with the main plot focusing on Maryann being revealed as a "maenad," a supernatural being who manipulates humans. She uses Tara and Eggs to summon her god to Earth, eventually controlling most of Bon Temps.
Meanwhile, Sookie investigates the disappearance of Godric, a 2,000-year-old vampire and sheriff of Texas's "Area 9." While Sookie is away, Sam hires Daphne Landry, a shapeshifter, to work at Merlotte's. Daphne is later exposed as working for Maryann. Jason leaves Bon Temps to join the Fellowship of the Sun, which has become more militant under Reverend Newlin. Godric is found by the Fellowship, and his lieutenant, Isabel Beaumont, helps Sookie infiltrate the church. Eric also sends Bill's maker, Lorena, to assist in the investigation. By the end of the season, the vampire queen of Louisiana, Sophie-Anne Leclerq, is introduced, and both Bill and Eric seek her help to defeat Maryann.
The third season begins immediately after the events of the second season, with Sookie searching for Bill and his kidnappers. She turns to Eric for help, but he is uninterested and instead sends werewolf Alcide Herveaux to assist. Bill was taken by werewolves working for Russell Edgington, a 3,000-year-old vampire king from Mississippi. Meanwhile, Lafayette, a character from the first season, continues to play a role in the story.
Production
Series creator Alan Ball had previously worked with the cable channel HBO on Six Feet Under, which ran for five seasons. In October 2005, after Six Feet Under ended, Ball signed a two-year agreement with HBO to develop and produce original programming for the network. True Blood became the first project under the deal after Ball became familiar with Charlaine Harris’s Southern Vampire Mystery books. One day, while waiting for a dental appointment, Ball was browsing a Barnes & Noble bookshop and found Dead Until Dark (2001), the first book in Harris’s series. He read the following entries and became interested in "bringing [Harris’] vision to television." Harris had already had two other offers to adapt her books but chose to work with Ball because "[Ball] really 'got' me. That's how he convinced me to go with him. I just felt that he understood what I was doing with the books."
The project’s hour-long pilot was ordered at the same time the development deal was completed. Ball wrote, directed, and produced the pilot. Cast members Paquin, Kwanten, and Trammell were announced in February 2007, and Moyer later in April. The pilot was filmed in early summer 2007 and officially ordered to series in August, at which point Ball had already written more episodes. Production on the series began later that fall, with Brook Kerr, who played Tara Thornton in the original pilot, replaced by Rutina Wesley. Two more episodes had been filmed before the 2007–08 Writers Guild of America strike halted production of the 12-episode first season until February 2008. That September, after only the first two episodes had aired, HBO ordered a second season of 12 episodes, with production scheduled to begin in January 2009 for a summer premiere.
True Blood’s Emmy-nominated title sequence includes scenes of the show’s Deep South setting and uses the song "Bad Things" by Jace Everett. The original featurette was created around the song "RadTimesXpress" by Jennifer Herrema (Royal Trux). The sequence was designed to reflect the idea of "the whore in the house of prayer" by mixing images of sex, violence, and religion from the perspective of "a supernatural, predatory creature observing humans from the shadows." Themes of redemption and forgiveness are also shown, with the sequence progressing from morning to night and ending with a baptism. The title sequence was created by the independent film company Digital Kitchen. It includes images and themes of death and rebirth, such as a Venus flytrap swallowing a frog and a fox’s head decaying to show maggots. Rebirth is shown through a scene of a woman being "washed clean" of her sins in a lake and a preacher blessing a congregation member. Some footage was filmed on location, including scenes in Louisiana, a Chicago church, and a Seattle bar. The sequence uses original documentaries, tabletop photography, and handmade footage. Creative director Matt Mulder explained that the goal was to "rumble through the swamps, wilderness, and cultures of the South to eventually reach into the hearts and minds of its inhabitants."
During editing, individual frames were splattered with drops of blood. Transitions were made using a Polaroid transfer technique, where the last frame of one shot and the first frame of another were combined into a single Polaroid photo. The photo was split into emulsion and backing, and the separation was filmed and added to the final edit. Eight different typefaces, inspired by Southern road signs, were created manually for credits and the title card.
In a 2010 issue of TV Guide, the show’s opening title sequence ranked #5 on a list of TV’s top 10 credits sequences, as selected by readers. Gary Calamar, who oversees the series’ music, said his goal was to create a soundtrack that is "swampy, bluesy, and spooky" and to feature local Louisiana musicians. True Blood soundtrack albums have earned two Grammy Award nominations. Composer Nathan Barr writes the original score for the series, using instruments like the cello, guitar, prepared piano, and glass harmonica, all performed by him. The main theme song is "Bad Things" by Jace Everett, from his 2005 self-titled debut. Both Nathan Barr and Jace Everett won 2009 awards from Broadcast Music Incorporated in the BMI Cable Awards category for the original score and theme song, respectively.
Each episode’s title is named after a song featured in the episode, usually during the closing credits. The title often hints at the events in the episode. For example, episode ten of season four is titled "Burning Down the House," and the end credits feature a cover of the classic Talking Heads song by The Used.
The premiere of True Blood was preceded by a viral marketing campaign called an alternate reality game (ARG) based at BloodCopy.com. This included setting up multiple websites, encoding web addresses into unmarked envelopes mailed to high-profile blog writers, and performances by a "vampire" discussing the fictional beverage "TrueBlood." A MySpace account named "Blood" uploaded two videos: "Vampire Taste Test – True Blood vs Human" and "BloodCopy Exclusive INTERVIEW WITH SAMSON THE VAMPIRE." A prequel comic was given to attendees of the 2008 Comic-Con, focusing on an old vampire named Lamar discussing the origins of TruBlood. Several commercials featuring vampires, similar to ads for beer and wine, aired on HBO and Facebook before the series premiere.
HBO produced and broadcast two documentaries to promote True Blood, titled True Bloodlines. The first, Vampire Legends, explored early portrayals of vampires in legends, literature, and films. The second, A New Type, discussed vampire culture from Nosferatu to modern depictions. The documentaries featured actors and writers from True Blood. They first aired on September 6, 2008, on HBO.
Thousands of DVDs of the first episode were given to attendees of Midnight Madness, a film festival. Blockbuster Video offered free rentals of the first episode of True Blood several days before it aired on HBO.
On April 16, 2009, HBO released the first teaser poster for season 2. The image used a perspective technique to show one of two images. A minute-long promotional video advertising season 2, featuring Bob Dylan’s "Beyond Here Lies Nothin’," was released via Entertainment Tonight in early May. A website for The Fellowship of the Sun, antagonists from the book series, featured videos about hot-button issues like becoming a vampire.
In September 2009, HBO filed a trademark registration with the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
Home media
The True Blood DVDs have always been top-selling in the United States. By the end of 2009, the first season DVD sold more than 1.6 million copies and earned over $57 million. It was the only TV show listed in the top 50 best-selling DVDs of 2009. The second season DVD sold 1,159,509 copies in 2010, earning over $41 million. The third season DVD was the 61st best-selling DVD of 2011, selling nearly 1 million copies and earning over $30 million. It was the top-selling TV box set of 2011. In its first week of release—the week ending June 2, 2012—season four reached number one on the UK "TV on Video" chart. However, it ranked number six in the combined DVD chart. In its first week of release in North America, it sold over 660,000 copies, earning nearly $20 million. In its second week of release in North America, it sold an additional 120,000 copies (a total of 784,000 copies sold), earning another $4 million.
Reception
The series has a 70% approval rating on the review website Rotten Tomatoes.
The first season of True Blood received mostly positive reviews, even though some people had mixed feelings at first. Linda Stasi of the New York Post wrote about the opening episodes:
Robert Bianco of USA Today concluded:
The third season of True Blood had the highest Rotten Tomatoes rating of 95%, with an average score of 8.25 out of 10 based on 22 reviews. The critical consensus for this season said, "True Blood seems to fully understand its appeal, and its third season provides plenty of graphic thrills, steamy romance, and biting satire for its fans." On Metacritic, another review site, the first five seasons received "generally favorable reviews," with scores of 63, 74, 79, 74, and 74, respectively.
The sixth season, which was the first without Alan Ball as the show’s creator, received mixed reviews compared to the praise for the first five seasons. Many critics noted that the writing and production quality had declined. Brian Lowry of Variety wrote:
The sixth and seventh seasons each had a 44% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes. The critical consensus for season six stated, "A major letdown coming off the end of season five, True Blood seems to be running out of steam and isn't aging as elegantly as its eternal vampires." On Metacritic, the sixth season scored 58, and the seventh scored 54, both indicating "mixed or average reviews."
Actors received praise for their performances, especially Anna Paquin and Nelsan Ellis. Anna Paquin won the Golden Globe for Best Actress in a Television Series – Drama at the 66th Golden Globe Awards for her role in the first season. She was also nominated the next year and won the Saturn Award for Best Actress in a Series, Drama at the 13th Satellite Awards. Nelsan Ellis won the award for Best Supporting Actor – Series, Miniseries or Television Film at the same ceremony. Stephen Moyer won the Best Actor on Television award at the 2010 ceremony.
True Blood was the subject of a Sesame Street sketch parody titled "True Mud" (2010), which featured puppet versions of characters like Sookie, Bill, Lafayette, Sam, Tara, and Sheriff Dearborne. In the sketch, Muppet Sookie struggles to fulfill Muppet Bill’s request for a pint of "True Mud" while other characters guess whether he is a "grouch."
Anna Paquin (Sookie), Stephen Moyer (Bill), and Alexander Skarsgård (Eric) appeared on the September 2010 cover of Rolling Stone, covered in blood and completely naked. This cover caused controversy because of its portrayal of sexuality and violence. The show’s creator, Alan Ball, said in the magazine, "To me, vampires are sex… I don't get a vampire story about abstinence," referring to the Twilight books and films, which had a more conservative approach to vampires and sexuality. "I'm 53. I don't care about high school students. I find them irritating and uninformed."
Professional wrestler Matt Hardy said the show inspired his "Broken" Matt Hardy character.
The struggle for vampire equality in True Blood has been interpreted as a symbol for the LGBT rights movement. Charlaine Harris, the author of the book series on which the show is based, said her initial idea for the vampires was "a minority that was trying to get equal rights." Some phrases in the series, like "God Hates Fangs" (based on "God Hates Fags") and "Coming out of the coffin" (based on "Coming out of the closet"), use language associated with the LGBT community.
Entertainment Weekly’s Ken Tucker wrote that the show uses metaphors, such as vampire rights representing gay rights and the behavior of a bratty vampire girl symbolizing adolescent rebellion. David Bianculli of NPR wrote, "True Blood is big on allegory, and the tension about accepting vampires into society is an obvious play on civil rights in general, and gay rights in particular." However, the series’ creator, Alan Ball, who is gay, said such comparisons are lazy and possibly homophobic. Lauren Gutterman of the Center for Lesbian and Gay Studies expressed concerns that the show might reinforce negative stereotypes of homosexuals as deviants.
Ratings
The first episode of True Blood had 1.44 million viewers when it first aired. This number was much lower than the first episodes of other shows on the same network, such as Big Love, which had 4.56 million viewers, and John from Cincinnati, which had 3.4 million viewers. However, by late November 2008, 6.8 million people watched the show each week, including those who watched it again later. The final episode of the first season had 2.4 million viewers.
The first episode of the second season (June 14, 2009) was watched by 3.7 million people, making it the most viewed show on HBO since the final episode of The Sopranos. Including a late-night replay, the total number of viewers was 5.1 million. The tenth episode of the second season (August 23, 2009) had 5.3 million viewers, which was the highest number for any episode of the series. The final episode of the second season (September 13, 2009) had 5.1 million viewers. On average, 12.4 million people watched the second season each week.
The ninth episode of the fourth season (August 21, 2011) had 5.53 million viewers, which was the most watched episode of the series so far.
True Blood is the most watched series on HBO since The Sopranos.
Awards and nominations
The show received an award for Outstanding Casting in a Drama at the 61st Primetime Emmy Awards. The two lead actors were both awarded for their performances:
- Anna Paquin, who played Sookie Stackhouse, was awarded Best Actress in a Drama at the 13th Satellite Awards.
- Stephen Moyer, who played Bill Compton, was awarded Best Actor at the 37th Saturn Awards.
The show was honored with an American Film Institute Award in 2009 as "One of the 10 Best TV Programs." It was also named "Favorite TV Obsession" at the 36th People's Choice Awards. The show’s stunt performers were awarded Outstanding Performance by a Stunt Ensemble at the 17th Screen Actors Guild Awards.
Canceled reboot
In December 2020, HBO announced plans to create a new version of the television series True Blood. Alan Ball, the original creator and head writer of the show, was scheduled to help oversee the project as an executive producer. In February 2023, HBO's chief executive officer, Casey Bloys, stated that the network had written several scripts for the reboot but noted that none of them met the expected quality.