The next season of True Blood will be its last, HBO has confirmed.
The vampire drama will return for its seventh and final season, consisting of ten episodes, on HBO next summer (2014). Michael Lombardo, the network’s president of programming, said in a press release: “True Blood has been nothing short of a defining show for HBO.”
True Blood launched in 2008 and centres on the adventures of Anna Paquin‘s Sookie Stackhouse, a telepathic waitress living in the fictional town of Bon Temps, Louisiana, where humans co-exist with vampires. The long-term cast also includes Alexander Skarsgård, Ryan Kwanten and Stephen Moyer, who is married to Paquin in real-life.
The show was created by Alan Ball, the Oscar-winning writer of American Beauty, based on the Sookie Stackhouse novels by Charlaine Harris. “From the moment I read Charlaine’s books, I thought there was potential for something really special,” Ball said. “Then our amazing writers, cast and crew brought her world to life in a way that exceeded my wildest expectations.”
Brian Buckner, who took over as showrunner when Ball stood down at the end of season five, added: “As we take a final walk through Bon Temps together, we will do our very best to bring Sookie’s story to a close with heart, imagination and, of course, fun.”
In the meantime, season six of True Blood is set to begin in the UK on cable network FOX on September 30.