True Blood facts for kids

Quick facts for kids True Blood
Genre	Fantasy Horror Drama
Created by	Alan Ball
Starring	Anna Paquin Stephen Moyer Alexander Skarsgård Sam Trammell Ryan Kwanten Rutina Wesley Chris Bauer Nelsan Ellis Jim Parrack Carrie Preston Michael Raymond-James William Sanderson Lynn Collins Lois Smith Adina Porter Lizzy Caplan Stephen Root Mehcad Brooks Anna Camp Michelle Forbes Todd Lowe Michael McMillian Deborah Ann Woll Mariana Klaveno Marshall Allman Kristin Bauer van Straten Kevin Alejandro Denis O'Hare Lindsay Pulsipher Lauren Bowles Janina Gavankar Fiona Shaw Jessica Tuck Joe Manganiello Scott Foley Lucy Griffiths Christopher Meloni Valentina Cervi Rutger Hauer Arliss Howard Kelly Overton Robert Patrick Rob Kazinsky Jurnee Smollett-Bell Amelia Rose Blaire Gregg Daniel Aaron Christian Howles Noah Matthews Bailey Noble Nathan Parsons Karolina Wydra Tara Buck
Theme music composer	Jace Everett
Opening theme	"Bad Things" by Jace Everett
Composer(s)	Nathan Barr
Country of origin	United States
Original language(s)	English
No. of seasons	7
No. of episodes	80 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producer(s)	Alan Ball Gregg Fienberg Brian Buckner Raelle Tucker Alexander Woo Nancy Oliver Mark Hudis Angela Robinson
Producer(s)	Bruce Dunn W. Mark McNair Carol Dunn Tussell
Running time	45–64 minutes
Production company(s)	Your Face Goes Here Entertainment HBO Entertainment
Release
Original network	HBO
Original release	September 7, 2008 (2008-09-07) – August 24, 2014 (2014-08-24)

True Blood is an American fantasy horror drama television series produced and created by Alan Ball. It is based on The Southern Vampire Mysteries, a series of novels by Charlaine Harris.

The series revolves around Sookie Stackhouse (Anna Paquin), a telepathic waitress living in the fictional rural town of Bon Temps, Louisiana. It is set two years after the invention of a synthetic blood product branded "Tru Blood" that has allowed vampires to "come out of the coffin" and let their presence be known to mankind. It chronicles the vampires' struggle for equal rights and assimilation while anti-vampire organizations begin to gain power. Sookie's world is turned upside down when she falls in love with 174-year-old vampire Bill Compton (Stephen Moyer), and for the first time, she must navigate the trials and terrors of intimacy and relationships.

The show was broadcast on the premium cable network HBO, in the United States, and was produced by HBO in association with Ball's production company, Your Face Goes Here Entertainment. The series premiered on September 7, 2008, and concluded on August 24, 2014, comprising seven seasons and 80 episodes. The first five seasons received highly positive reviews, and both nominations and wins for several awards, including a Golden Globe and an Emmy.

Series overview

The fictional universe depicted in the series is premised on the notion that vampires exist, unbeknownst to the majority of humans until two years before the series premiere, when the creation of synthetic blood ("Tru Blood") by Japanese scientists, which eliminated vampires' need for human blood to survive, allowed vampires to "come out of the coffin" and reveal their existence to the world. This so-called "Great Revelation" has split vampires into two camps: those who wish to integrate into human society (i.e., "mainstream") by campaigning for citizenship and equal rights, and those who think human-vampire co-existence is impossible, because it conflicts with the inherently predatory and violent nature of vampires. It has also caused similar divisions amongst non-vampires; some believe that vampires should be accepted and granted rights, while others view them as monsters to be destroyed. Throughout the series, other supernatural creatures are introduced, among them shapeshifters, werewolves, faeries, witches, and a maenad.

The series revolves around Sookie Stackhouse (Anna Paquin), a telepathic human-faerie hybrid known as a halfling (not to be confused with similarly named, but unrelated creatures found in other fantasy works). Sookie is a waitress at Merlotte's Bar and Grill, owned by Sam Merlotte (Sam Trammell) in the small Louisiana town of Bon Temps. Sam is a shapeshifter, though this secret is kept hidden from most of the town. Other characters include Bill Compton (Stephen Moyer), a 173-year-old vampire who has returned to Bon Temps to take up residence in his former home following the death of his last remaining relative; Tara Thornton (Rutina Wesley), Sookie's tough-talking but insecure best friend; Jason (Ryan Kwanten), Sookie's brother; Eric Northman (Alexander Skarsgård), a 1,000-year-old vampire and Sheriff of Area 5; and Lafayette Reynolds (Nelsan Ellis), a short order cook, road crew member, and medium.

The show explores several contemporary issues such as the struggle for equal rights, discrimination, and violence against minorities, the power of faith and religion, the control/influence of the media, the quest for identity, and the importance of family.

Cast

Some of the cast of True Blood at the 2011 Comic-Con.

True Blood employs a broad ensemble cast composed of regular, central characters and a rotating group of impermanent supporting characters. Though the series is based in the fictional town of Bon Temps, Louisiana, a noticeable number of the actors are originally from outside the United States. In an interview, Ball explained that he didn't intentionally seek out "non-American" actors, but was willing to go anywhere he needed to in order "to find the actor who makes the character breathe". Ball went on to explain that, in casting, there was more of a focus on who would portray the character in a compelling way rather than who would physically resemble the characters from the book. Noting that there's a definite difference between the characters and storylines portrayed in True Blood and the ones depicted in The Southern Vampire Mysteries, he described Harris as being very understanding in terms of how her work was being reinterpreted.

Main characters

Music

Gary Calamar, who supervises the series' music, said his goal for the show's soundtrack is to create something "swampy, bluesy and spooky" and to feature local Louisiana musicians. True Blood soundtrack albums have twice earned Grammy Award nominations.

Composer Nathan Barr writes the original score for the series, which features the cello, guitar, prepared piano, and glass harmonica among other instruments, all of which he performs himself. The main theme song is "Bad Things" by country music artist 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, respectively, True Blood's original score and theme song.

The show's individual episode titles are named after songs featured in the episodes, usually heard during the closing credits. The title usually indicates something about the events that will unfold throughout the given episode. For example, episode ten of season four is titled "Burning Down the House", and the end credits feature a cover version of the classic Talking Heads song performed by The Used.

Home media

The True Blood DVDs have been consistent best-sellers in the US. By the end of 2009, the first season DVD had sold over 1.6 million units and taken in over $57 million. It was the only TV show in the 50 top-selling DVDs of 2009. The second season DVD sold a total of 1,159,509 units in 2010, earning over $41 million. The third season DVD was the 61st best-selling DVD of 2011, selling almost 1 million copies and earning over $30 million. It was the best selling TV box set of 2011. In its first week of release—the week ending June 2, 2012—season four debuted at number one on the UK "TV on Video" chart. However, it reached only number six in the combined DVD chart. In its first week of release in North America, it sold over 660,000 units, earning nearly $20 million. In its second week of release in North America, it sold a further 120,000 units (making a combined total of 784,000 units sold), earning another $4 million.

Ratings

Graph of the US viewing figures of the first three seasons of True Blood.

The first episode of True Blood debuted at a very modest 1.44 million viewers compared to the network's past drama premiers such as Big Love which premiered at 4.56 million, and John from Cincinnati which debuted at 3.4 million. However, by late November 2008, 6.8 million a week were watching: this figure included repeat and on-demand viewings. The season finale's viewership was 2.4 million.

The second-season premiere of the series (June 14, 2009) was viewed by 3.7 million, making it the most watched program on HBO since the series finale of The Sopranos. The total number of viewers for the season premiere, including the late night replay, was 5.1 million. The tenth episode of the second season (August 23, 2009) was seen by 5.3 million viewers, a new record for the series. The second season's finale (September 13, 2009) was seen by 5.1 million viewers. An average of 12.4 million a week watched the second season.

The ninth episode of the fourth season (August 21, 2011) set a new record with 5.53 million viewers, making it the most viewed episode to date.

True Blood is HBO's most watched series since The Sopranos.

U.S. Nielsen ratings

Awards and nominations

The show won an Outstanding Casting for a Drama at the 61st Primetime Emmy Awards; the two lead actors have both been recognized for their performances:

• Anna Paquin as Sookie Stackhouse, for Best Actress in a Drama at the 13th Satellite Awards
• Stephen Moyer as Bill Compton for Best Actor at the 37th Saturn Awards

The show received an American Film Institute Award in 2009 as "One of the 10 Best TV Programs" and was chosen as "Favorite TV Obsession" at the 36th People's Choice Awards. Its stunt performers have been recognized for Outstanding Performance by a Stunt Ensemble at the 17th Screen Actors Guild Awards.

Canceled reboot

In December 2020, it was announced that HBO was developing a reboot of True Blood. The original series' creator and original showrunner, Alan Ball, was set to executive produce the reboot. In February 2023, HBO CEO Casey Bloys confirmed HBO had developed a few scripts but stated, "nothing that felt like it got there".

See also

• The Southern Vampire Mysteries
• List of vampire television series
• Vampire film
• Vampire literature