‘Tis a day to be sad, all ye who are fans of vampires, blood and consenting adult situations. HBO has announced that the upcoming seventh season (!) of True Blood, set to air in the summer of 2014, will be the True Blood final season.
Gotta say this is not a major surprise. Once vaunted by critics, True Blood has fallen down the ladder of praise a bit over the last few years. Still, it’s a fan favorite and a sure generator of money (read: subscriptions) for the pay cable channel. It’s tough to keep people involved once you start adding fairies, werewolves, and shapeshifters into the mix. Am I right? No, no I am not! That’s the kind of stuff we should be paying to see…but alas, the muse has tired of her True Blood breathings.
Here’s HBO president Michael Lombardo on the decision:
“‘True Blood’ has been nothing short of a defining show for HBO. Alan Ball took the books by Charlaine Harris, assembled a brilliant cast led by the magnificent Anna Paquin in the role of Sookie Stackhouse, and crafted a show that has taken its many devoted fans on an unforgettable journey. Alan passed the baton to Brian Buckner, who led our fantastic writers and crew in crafting a spectacular sixth season, and he will lead us through the seventh and final season of this amazing show. Together with its legions of fans, it will be hard to say goodbye to the residents of Bon Temps, but I look forward to what promises to be a fantastic final chapter of this incredible show.”
Good stuff. Very politically correct. But how much longer does Boardwalk Empire have???
Just kidding. For you fans out there mourning the True Blood final season, remember this: an definitive end date is a blessing, not a curse. Showrunner Brian Buckner (and perhaps even former showrunner Alan Ball) have a chance to end things not with a whimper, but with a crazy as hell, Sookie-supersized bang.