The fifth season of the

HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American premium television network, which is the flagship property of namesake parent subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is ba ...

supernatural drama series '' True Blood'' premiered on June 10, 2012 and features 12 episodes, bringing the series total to 60. It picks up right after the events of

season four A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperate and pola ...

. It is loosely based on the fifth book in '' The Southern Vampire Mysteries'' series, ''

Dead as a Doornail ''Dead as a Doornail'' is the fifth book in Charlaine Harris's series ''The Southern Vampire Mysteries''. Summary It's the first full moon since Jason was bitten by the werepanther Felton Norris (in ''Dead to the World''). Calvin Norris comes ...

'', but incorporates much more of the following books than the previous seasons have.

Cast and characters

Main cast

* Anna Paquin as Sookie Stackhouse *

Stephen Moyer Stephen Moyer (born Stephen John Emery; 11 October 1969) is an English film and television actor who is best known as vampire Bill Compton in the HBO series ''True Blood''. His first television role was in 1993 as Philip Masefield in the TV ad ...

Bill Compton William H. Compton, Jr. (October 6, 1945, Rockford, Illinois – August 27, 2007) was a mental health advocate in California who attained national stature. After a mental health crisis in 1989, he became heavily involved in self-help and ...

* Sam Trammell as

Sam Merlotte Sam Merlotte is a fictional character from ''The Southern Vampire Mysteries/Sookie Stackhouse Series'' by author Charlaine Harris. Sam lives in the fictional town of Bon Temps, Louisiana, and is the owner of a bar named Merlotte's. Sam has stra ...

Ryan Kwanten Ryan Christian Kwanten (born 28 November 1976) is an Australian actor and producer. He played Vinnie Patterson from 1997 to 2002 in the Australian soap opera ''Home and Away''. After his stint ended, he joined the American teen drama series '' ...

Jason Stackhouse Jason Stackhouse is a fictional character from ''The Southern Vampire Mysteries'' book series by author Charlaine Harris. Introduced in the first novel, ''Dead Until Dark'', Jason is Sookie Stackhouse's older brother and road crew supervisor for ...

* Rutina Wesley as Tara Thornton * Alexander Skarsgård as Eric Northman * Christopher Meloni as Roman Zimojic *

Chris Bauer Mark Christopher Bauer (born October 28, 1966) is an American actor. He is best known for his television work in ''The Wire'', ''Third Watch'', ''True Blood'', ''Survivor's Remorse,'' '' The Deuce and'' the Apple TV+ original science fiction spac ...

Andy Bellefleur ''True Blood'' is an American television drama series created and produced by Alan Ball. It is based on ''The Southern Vampire Mysteries'' by Charlaine Harris. This article includes main characters (i.e. characters played by a main cast member) ...

* Kristin Bauer van Straten as Pam Swynford De Beaufort * Lauren Bowles as Holly Cleary *

Valentina Cervi Valentina Cervi (born 13 April 1976) is an Italian film and television actress. Cervi was born in Rome, Italy. She is the daughter of director Tonino Cervi and granddaughter of actor Gino Cervi. Her mother is the Italian producer of Austrian- ...

Salome Agrippa ''True Blood'' is an American television drama series created and produced by Alan Ball. It is based on ''The Southern Vampire Mysteries'' by Charlaine Harris. This article includes main characters (i.e. characters played by a main cast member) ...

Nelsan Ellis Nelsan Ellis (November 30, 1977 – July 8, 2017) was an American actor and playwright. He achieved critical acclaim for his portrayal of Lafayette Reynolds in the HBO television series ''True Blood'' (2008–2014), for which he won a Satel ...

Lafayette Reynolds ''True Blood'' is an American television drama series created and produced by Alan Ball. It is based on ''The Southern Vampire Mysteries'' by Charlaine Harris. This article includes main characters (i.e. characters played by a main cast member) ...

Scott Foley Scott Kellerman Foley (born July 15, 1972) is an American actor and director. Foley is known for roles in television shows such as ''The Unit'', '' Scrubs'', '' Felicity'', and ''Scandal'', and in films such as '' Scream 3''. He has als ...

Patrick Devins ''True Blood'' is an American television drama series created and produced by Alan Ball. It is based on ''The Southern Vampire Mysteries'' by Charlaine Harris. This article includes main characters (i.e. characters played by a main cast member) ...

Janina Gavankar Janina Zione Gavankar (; born November 29, 1980) is an American actress and musician. She is trained as a pianist, vocalist, orchestral percussionist and majored in theatre at the University of Illinois Chicago. Her roles include Shiva on ''The ...

as Luna Garza * Lucy Griffiths as Nora Gainesborough *

Todd Lowe Todd Lowe (born May 10, 1977) is an American actor. He is best known for his role as Terry Bellefleur, a PTSD-suffering Iraq War veteran who works as a short order cook at Merlotte's Bar & Grill on HBO's ''True Blood'' and as Zack Van Gerbig on ...

as Terry Bellefleur *

Joe Manganiello Joseph Michael Manganiello ( ; , ; born December 28, 1976) is an American actor. His professional film career began when he played Flash Thompson in Sam Raimi's ''Spider-Man''. His breakout role was as werewolf Alcide Herveaux in five seasons of ...

as Alcide Herveaux *

Michael McMillian Michael McMillian (born October 21, 1978) is an American actor and writer, known for his roles as Henry Gibson on '' What I Like About You'', Steve Newlin on the HBO series ''True Blood'', Owen on ''Hot in Cleveland'' and Tim in ''Crazy Ex-Girlf ...

as Steve Newlin * Denis O'Hare as

Russell Edgington ''True Blood'' is an American television drama series created and produced by Alan Ball. It is based on ''The Southern Vampire Mysteries'' by Charlaine Harris. This article includes main characters (i.e. characters played by a main cast member) ...

Jim Parrack Jim Parrack (born February 8, 1981) is an American actor best known for his role as Hoyt Fortenberry in HBO series ''True Blood''. He has also appeared in the film '' Battle: Los Angeles'' and as "Slim" in the 2014 Broadway production of ''Of Mic ...

Hoyt Fortenberry ''True Blood'' is an American television drama series created and produced by Alan Ball. It is based on ''The Southern Vampire Mysteries'' by Charlaine Harris. This article includes main characters (i.e. characters played by a main cast member) ...

Carrie Preston Carrie Preston (born June 21, 1967) is an American actress known for her work on the television series ''True Blood'', ''Person of Interest'', ''Crowded'', ''The Good Wife'', ''The Good Fight'', and ''Claws''. Preston received critical acclaim ...

as Arlene Fowler Bellefleur * Deborah Ann Woll as

Jessica Hamby Jessica Hamby is a fictional character in the ''True Blood'' series, portrayed by Deborah Ann Woll. In the series, which chronicles the life of human waitress Sookie Stackhouse and her friends after vampires make themselves known to humans, Jessic ...

Special guest cast

* Kevin Alejandro as Jesus Velasquez *

William Sanderson William Sanderson (born January 10, 1944) is an American retired actor. He played J. F. Sebastian in the feature film ''Blade Runner'' (1982), and had regular roles on several television series such as Larry on ''Newhart'' (1982–1990), E. B. ...

as Bud Dearborn *

Alfre Woodard Alfre Woodard (; born November 8, 1952) is an American actress. She has received various accolades, including four Primetime Emmy Awards (tying the record for the most acting Emmys won by an African-American performer, along with Regina King), ...

as Ruby Jean Reynolds *

Adina Porter Adina Elizabeth Porter is an American actress. She is best known for her roles as Lettie Mae Thornton on the HBO fantasy horror series ''True Blood'' (2008–2014), Kendra James on the HBO drama series '' The Newsroom'' (2012–2014), and Indra ...

as Lettie Mae Daniels

Guest cast

* Carolyn Hennesy as Rosalyn Harris *

Peter Mensah Peter Mensah (born 27 August 1959) is a Ghanaian English actor, best known for his roles in the films '' Tears of the Sun'', '' Hidalgo'', '' The Incredible Hulk'', ''300'', and television series such as Starz' '' Spartacus: Blood and Sand'', '' ...

as Kibwe Akinjide *

Giles Matthey Giles Ingram Matthey (born 11 November 1987) is a British actor best known for his role as Claude Crane on the HBO original series ''True Blood'', Gideon on the ABC series ''Once Upon a Time'', and Jordan Reed on FOX series '' 24: Live Another ...

as Claude Crane * Dale Dickey as Martha Bozeman * Louis Herthum as JD Carson * Christopher Heyerdahl as Dieter Braun * John Rezig as Deputy Kevin Ellis *

Jamie Gray Hyder Jamie Gray Hyder (born April 27, 1985) is an American actress and model. She performed voice and motion capture work for the role of Lieutenant Nora Salter in '' Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare'' and voice acted for the operator Roze in '' Call of ...

as Danielle *

Tina Majorino Albertina Marie Majorino (; born February 7, 1985) is an American film and television actress. She started her career as a child actor, starring in films such as ''Andre (film), Andre'', ''When a Man Loves a Woman (film), When a Man Loves a Woma ...

as Molly *

Kelly Overton Kelly Overton is an American actress. She is known for portraying Vanessa Van Helsing in the 2016 Syfy fantasy drama series ''Van Helsing''. Early life Overton grew up in Wilbraham, Massachusetts, and studied at the American Academy of Dramati ...

as Rikki Naylor * Chloe Noelle as Emma Garza * Jessica Clark as Lilith *

Camilla Luddington Camilla Anne Luddington (born 15 December 1983) is a British actress, best known for her role as Dr. Josephine "Jo" Wilson in the ABC medical drama series ''Grey's Anatomy''. She is known for voicing Lara Croft in the ''Tomb Raider'' video ga ...

as Claudette Crane * Jacob Hopkins as Alexander Drew * Brendan McCarthy as Nate * Tanya Wright as Deputy Kenya Jones * John Billingsley as

Mike Spencer Michael Spencer is an English record producer and recording engineer, who has worked with pop acts ranging from Newton Faulkner to Emeli Sandé. Many of his productions have achieved platinum certification, and have won MOBO and Brit Awards, a ...

* Emma Greenwell as Claudia Crane *

Robert Patrick Robert Hammond Patrick (born November 5, 1958) is an American actor. Known for portraying villains and honorable authority figures, he is a Saturn Award winner with four other nominations. Patrick dropped out of college when drama class sparked ...

as Jackson Herveaux *

Patricia Bethune Patricia Bethune, sometimes credited as P.B. Hutton, (born July 27, 1956) is an American television actress. In 2019, she received Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Special Guest Performer in a Drama Series at the 46th Daytime Emmy Awards for ...

as Jane Bodehouse *

Tara Buck Tara Buck (born March 16, 1975) is an American film, stage, and television actress. Buck is known for her roles in ''True Blood,'' '' Ray Donovan'', and ''Party of Five''. Early life Buck attended Wood River High School in Hailey Idaho, where ...

Ginger Ginger (''Zingiber officinale'') is a flowering plant whose rhizome, ginger root or ginger, is widely used as a spice A spice is a seed, fruit, root, bark, or other plant substance primarily used for flavoring or coloring food. Spices ...

Allan Hyde Allan Hyde (born 20 December 1989)"Allan Hyde"
''Danskefilm'', retrieved 14 September 2021 . is a

as Godric *

Dale Raoul Dale Raoul (born Karen Dale Raoul; August 16, 1955) is an American film and television actress perhaps best known for her role as Maxine Fortenberry, mother of Hoyt Fortenberry, on the HBO television series ''True Blood''. Career Raoul was b ...

as Maxine Fortenberry *

Aaron Christian Howles Aaron Christian Howles (born June 3, 1993) is an American television actor and singer known for his roles on '' Swingtown'', ''True Blood'' and ''United States of Tara''. Howles began acting at age 11 when he appeared in a community production of ...

as Rocky Cleary * Keram Malicki-Sánchez as Elijah Stormer *

Noah Matthews Noah ''Nukh''; am, ኖህ, ''Noḥ''; ar, نُوح '; grc, Νῶε ''Nôe'' () is the tenth and last of the pre-Flood patriarchs in the traditions of Abrahamic religions. His story appears in the Hebrew Bible (Book of Genesis, chapters 5– ...

as Wade Cleary * Alec Gray as Coby Fowler *

Mariana Klaveno Mariana Klaveno (born October 25, 1979) is an American actress best known for her television roles as Lorena Ball (Krasiki) in the HBO series ''True Blood'', as the psychopath Abby in the Lifetime movie ''While the Children Sleep'', and as mov ...

as Lorena Krasiki * Laurel Weber as Lisa Fowler *

Erica Gimpel Erica Fawn Gimpel (born June 25, 1964) is an American actress, singer, and dancer. She is best known for her roles on television shows '' Fame'' as Coco Hernandez and on '' Profiler'' as Angel Brown. She is also known for her recurring roles on ...

as Faerie Elder

Episodes

Production

''True Blood'' was officially renewed for a fifth season on August 11, 2011. In February, 2012 it was announced that creator Alan Ball would be stepping down as showrunner at the end of the fifth season. Ball will continue on as executive producer in a more advisory role and leave the day-to-day production of the series to others. "Because of the fantastic cast, writers, producers and crew, with whom I have been lucky enough to work these past five years, I know I could step back and the show will continue to thrive," said Ball in a statement. Series co-star

made his directorial debut with the eighth episode of season five, titled "Somebody That I Used to Know." '' D.E.B.S.'' writer/director and former ''

The L Word ''The L Word'' is a television drama that aired on Showtime from January 18, 2004 to March 8, 2009. The series follows the lives of a group of lesbian and bisexual women who live in West Hollywood, California. The premise originated with Ilene Ch ...

'' producer Angela Robinson has joined the writing staff. She wrote episodes five and eleven. Series co-star Rutina Wesley confirmed that the character Tara would be returning.

Ratings

References

{{True Blood 2012 American television seasons True Blood Iraq War in television