True Blood ''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. A reboot is currently in development. The serie ...

'' is an American

television drama series In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-gen ...

created by Alan Ball and based on ''

The Southern Vampire Mysteries ''The Southern Vampire Mysteries'', also known as ''The True Blood Novels'' and ''The Sookie Stackhouse Novels'', is a series of books written by bestselling author Charlaine Harris. The first installment, ''Dead Until Dark'' (2001), won the Ant ...

'' (also known as ''The Sookie Stackhouse novels'') by

Charlaine Harris Charlaine Harris Schulz (born November 25, 1951) is an American author who specializes in Mystery fiction, mysteries. She is best known for her book series ''The Southern Vampire Mysteries'', which was adapted as the TV series ''True Blood''. The ...

. It aired on

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 ...

from September 7, 2008 to August 24, 2014. A total of 80 episodes of ''True Blood'' were broadcast over seven seasons. The series revolves around

Sookie Stackhouse Sookie Stackhouse is a fictional character and protagonist of ''The Southern Vampire Mysteries'' book series, written by Charlaine Harris. In HBO's television adaptation, ''True Blood'', Sookie is portrayed by Anna Paquin. Creation and casting ...

(

Anna Paquin Anna Hélène Paquin ( ; born 24 July 1982) is a New Zealand actress. Born in Winnipeg and raised in Wellington, Paquin made her acting debut portraying Flora McGrath in the romantic drama film ''The Piano'' (1993), for which she won the Aca ...

), a

telepathic Telepathy () is the purported vicarious transmission of information from one person's mind to another's without using any known human sensory channels or physical interaction. The term was first coined in 1882 by the classical scholar Frederic ...

waitress who is living in the rural town of Bon Temps, Louisiana two years after the invention of a synthetic blood called Tru Blood that has allowed vampires to "come out of the coffin" and allow their presence to be known to mankind. Now they are struggling 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 173-year-old vampire Bill Compton (

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 ...

) and for the first time must navigate the trials, tribulations and terrors of intimacy and relationships. Other characters include

Tara Thornton Tara Mae Thornton is a fictional character in Charlaine Harris's ''The Southern Vampire Mysteries'' and their television adaptation, HBO's ''True Blood''. Profile Tara Mae Thornton is a twenty-something Louisiana native and lifelong friend of t ...

(

Rutina Wesley Rutina Wesley (born December 21, 1978) is an American actress. She is best known for her roles as Tara Thornton on the HBO television series ''True Blood'', and Nova Bordelon on OWN’s ''Queen Sugar''. Early life and education Wesley was born ...

), Sookie's tough-talking best friend, her womanizing brother

Jason Jason ( ; ) was an ancient Greek mythological hero and leader of the Argonauts, whose quest for the Golden Fleece featured in Greek literature. He was the son of Aeson, the rightful king of Iolcos. He was married to the sorceress Medea. He w ...

(

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 '' ...

), thousand year old vampire and Sheriff of Area 5,

Eric Northman Eric Northman is a fictional character in ''The Southern Vampire Mysteries,'' a series of thirteen books written by ''New York Times'' bestselling author Charlaine Harris. He is a vampire, slightly over one thousand years old, and is first intro ...

(

Alexander Skarsgård Alexander Johan Hjalmar Skarsgård (; born August 25, 1976) is a Swedish actor. Born in Stockholm, he began acting at age seven but quit at 13. After serving in the Swedish military, Skarsgård returned to acting and gained his first role in th ...

), and her shape-shifting boss

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 ...

(

Sam Trammell Sam Trammell (born January 29, 1969) is an American actor, known for his role as Sam Merlotte on the HBO fantasy drama series ''True Blood''. He was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Play for his performance as Richard Mil ...

). ''True Blood'' follows a serialized format, with most episodes ending on a

cliffhanger A cliffhanger or cliffhanger ending is a plot device in fiction which features a main character in a precarious or difficult dilemma or confronted with a shocking revelation at the end of an episode or a film of serialized fiction. A cliffhang ...

that leads directly into the next. Episode titles are taken from the name of a song that appears on the soundtrack of that episode.

Series overview

Episodes

Season 1 (2008)

Season 2 (2009)

Season 3 (2010)

Season 4 (2011)

Season 5 (2012)

Season 6 (2013)

Season 7 (2014)

Minisodes

HBO began airing six mini-episodes of ''Drop of True Blood'' on April 24, 2010 to lead up to the season three premiere.

Series overview

Episodes

Season 1 (2008)

Season 2 (2009)

Season 3 (2010)

Season 4 (2011)

Season 5 (2012)

Season 6 (2013)

Season 7 (2014)

Minisodes

Ratings

Specials

Home video releases

References

External links