True Blood is an American television drama series created by Alan Ball for HBO. It is based on The Southern Vampire Mysteries (also known as The Sookie Stackhouse novels) by Charlaine Harris.
The series revolves around Sookie Stackhouse (Anna Paquin), a telepathic 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) and for the first time must navigate the trials, tribulations and terrors of intimacy and relationships. Other characters include Tara Thornton (Rutina Wesley), Sookie's tough-talking best friend, her womanizing brother Jason (Ryan Kwanten), thousand year old vampire and Sheriff of Area 5, Eric Northman (Alexander Skarsgård), and her shape-shifting boss Sam Merlotte (Sam Trammell). True Blood follows a serialized format, with most episodes ending on a cliffhanger that leads directly into the next. Episode titles are taken from the name of a song that appears on the soundtrack of that episode.
During the course of the series, 80 episodes of True Blood aired over seven seasons, between September 7, 2008, and August 24, 2014.[1]
Series overview
Episodes
Season 1 (2008)
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | US viewers (millions) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | "Strange Love" | Alan Ball | Alan Ball | September 7, 2008 | 1.44[2] |
| 2 | 2 | "The First Taste" | Scott Winant | Alan Ball | September 14, 2008 | 1.79[3] |
| 3 | 3 | "Mine" | John Dahl | Alan Ball | September 21, 2008 | 1.81[4] |
| 4 | 4 | "Escape from Dragon House" | Michael Lehmann | Brian Buckner | September 28, 2008 | 1.82[4] |
| 5 | 5 | "Sparks Fly Out" | Daniel Minahan | Alexander Woo | October 5, 2008 | 1.74[3] |
| 6 | 6 | "Cold Ground" | Nick Gomez | Raelle Tucker | October 12, 2008 | 1.67[3] |
| 7 | 7 | "Burning House of Love" | Marcos Siega | Chris Offutt | October 19, 2008 | 2.10[5] |
| 8 | 8 | "The Fourth Man in the Fire" | Michael Lehmann | Alexander Woo | October 26, 2008 | 2.07[6] |
| 9 | 9 | "Plaisir d'Amour" | Anthony M. Hemingway | Brian Buckner | November 2, 2008 | 2.35[7] |
| 10 | 10 | "I Don't Wanna Know" | Scott Winant | Chris Offutt | November 9, 2008 | 2.39[3] |
| 11 | 11 | "To Love Is to Bury" | Nancy Oliver | Nancy Oliver | November 16, 2008 | 2.67[8] |
| 12 | 12 | "You'll Be the Death of Me" | Alan Ball | Raelle Tucker | November 23, 2008 | 2.45[9] |
Season 2 (2009)
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | US viewers (millions) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 13 | 1 | "Nothing But the Blood" | Daniel Minahan | Alexander Woo | June 14, 2009 | 3.70[10] |
| 14 | 2 | "Keep This Party Going" | Michael Lehmann | Brian Buckner | June 21, 2009 | 3.41[11] |
| 15 | 3 | "Scratches" | Scott Winant | Raelle Tucker | June 28, 2009 | 3.70[12] |
| 16 | 4 | "Shake and Fingerpop" | Michael Lehmann | Alan Ball | July 12, 2009 | 3.90[13] |
| 17 | 5 | "Never Let Me Go" | John Dahl | Nancy Oliver | July 19, 2009 | 3.85[14] |
| 18 | 6 | "Hard-Hearted Hannah" | Michael Lehmann | Brian Buckner | July 26, 2009 | 4.00[15] |
| 19 | 7 | "Release Me" | Michael Ruscio | Raelle Tucker | August 2, 2009 | 4.27[16] |
| 20 | 8 | "Timebomb" | John Dahl | Alexander Woo | August 9, 2009 | 4.43[17] |
| 21 | 9 | "I Will Rise Up" | Scott Winant | Nancy Oliver | August 16, 2009 | 4.46[18] |
| 22 | 10 | "New World in My View" | Adam Davidson | Kate Barnow & Elisabeth R. Finch | August 23, 2009 | 5.33[19] |
| 23 | 11 | "Frenzy" | Daniel Minahan | Alan Ball | August 30, 2009 | 5.19[20] |
| 24 | 12 | "Beyond Here Lies Nothin'" | Michael Cuesta | Alexander Woo | September 13, 2009 | 5.11[21] |
Season 3 (2010)
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | US viewers (millions) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 25 | 1 | "Bad Blood" | Daniel Minahan | Brian Buckner | June 13, 2010 | 5.09[22] |
| 26 | 2 | "Beautifully Broken" | Scott Winant | Raelle Tucker | June 20, 2010 | 4.26[23] |
| 27 | 3 | "It Hurts Me Too" | Michael Lehmann | Alexander Woo | June 27, 2010 | 4.46[24] |
| 28 | 4 | "9 Crimes" | David Petrarca | Kate Barnow & Elisabeth R. Finch | July 11, 2010 | 4.68[25] |
| 29 | 5 | "Trouble" | Scott Winant | Nancy Oliver | July 18, 2010 | 4.86[26] |
| 30 | 6 | "I Got a Right to Sing the Blues" | Michael Lehmann | Alan Ball | July 25, 2010 | 4.74[27] |
| 31 | 7 | "Hitting the Ground" | John Dahl | Brian Buckner | August 1, 2010 | 5.24[28] |
| 32 | 8 | "Night on the Sun" | Lesli Linka Glatter | Raelle Tucker | August 8, 2010 | 5.09[29] |
| 33 | 9 | "Everything Is Broken" | Scott Winant | Alexander Woo | August 15, 2010 | 5.00[30] |
| 34 | 10 | "I Smell a Rat" | Michael Lehmann | Kate Barnow & Elisabeth R. Finch | August 22, 2010 | 5.39[31] |
| 35 | 11 | "Fresh Blood" | Daniel Minahan | Nancy Oliver | August 29, 2010 | 5.44[32] |
| 36 | 12 | "Evil Is Going On" | Anthony Hemingway | Alan Ball | September 12, 2010 | 5.38[33] |
Season 4 (2011)
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | US viewers (millions) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 37 | 1 | "She's Not There" | Michael Lehmann | Alexander Woo | June 26, 2011 | 5.42[34] |
| 38 | 2 | "You Smell Like Dinner" | Scott Winant | Brian Buckner | July 3, 2011 | 2.90[35] |
| 39 | 3 | "If You Love Me, Why Am I Dyin'?" | David Petrarca | Alan Ball | July 10, 2011 | 5.04[36] |
| 40 | 4 | "I'm Alive and On Fire" | Michael Lehmann | Nancy Oliver | July 17, 2011 | 5.10[37] |
| 41 | 5 | "Me and the Devil" | Daniel Minahan | Mark Hudis | July 24, 2011 | 5.26[38] |
| 42 | 6 | "I Wish I Was the Moon" | Jeremy Podeswa | Raelle Tucker | July 31, 2011 | 5.19[39] |
| 43 | 7 | "Cold Grey Light of Dawn" | Michael Ruscio | Alexander Woo | August 7, 2011 | 5.14[40] |
| 44 | 8 | "Spellbound" | Daniel Minahan | Alan Ball | August 14, 2011 | 5.30[41] |
| 45 | 9 | "Let's Get Out of Here" | Romeo Tirone | Brian Buckner | August 21, 2011 | 5.53[42] |
| 46 | 10 | "Burning Down the House" | Lesli Linka Glatter | Nancy Oliver | August 28, 2011 | 5.31[43] |
| 47 | 11 | "Soul of Fire" | Michael Lehmann | Mark Hudis | September 4, 2011 | 4.39[44] |
| 48 | 12 | "And When I Die" | Scott Winant | Raelle Tucker | September 11, 2011 | 5.05[45] |
Season 5 (2012)
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | US viewers (millions) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 49 | 1 | "Turn! Turn! Turn!" | Daniel Minahan | Brian Buckner | June 10, 2012 | 5.20[46] |
| 50 | 2 | "Authority Always Wins" | Michael Lehmann | Mark Hudis | June 17, 2012 | 4.42[47] |
| 51 | 3 | "Whatever I Am, You Made Me" | David Petrarca | Raelle Tucker | June 24, 2012 | 4.66[48] |
| 52 | 4 | "We'll Meet Again" | Romeo Tirone | Alexander Woo | July 1, 2012 | 4.54[49] |
| 53 | 5 | "Let's Boot and Rally" | Michael Lehmann | Angela Robinson | July 8, 2012 | 4.50[50] |
| 54 | 6 | "Hopeless" | Daniel Attias | Alan Ball | July 15, 2012 | 4.63[51] |
| 55 | 7 | "In the Beginning" | Michael Ruscio | Brian Buckner | July 22, 2012 | 4.46[52] |
| 56 | 8 | "Somebody That I Used to Know" | Stephen Moyer | Mark Hudis | July 29, 2012 | 4.60[53] |
| 57 | 9 | "Everybody Wants to Rule the World" | Daniel Attias | Raelle Tucker | August 5, 2012 | 4.50[54] |
| 58 | 10 | "Gone, Gone, Gone" | Scott Winant | Alexander Woo | August 12, 2012 | 4.49[55] |
| 59 | 11 | "Sunset" | Lesli Linka Glatter | Angela Robinson | August 19, 2012 | 4.93[56] |
| 60 | 12 | "Save Yourself" | Michael Lehmann | Alan Ball | August 26, 2012 | 5.05[57] |
Season 6 (2013)
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | US viewers (millions) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 61 | 1 | "Who Are You, Really?" | Stephen Moyer | Raelle Tucker | June 16, 2013 | 4.52[58] |
| 62 | 2 | "The Sun" | Daniel Attias | Angela Robinson | June 23, 2013 | 4.08[59] |
| 63 | 3 | "You're No Good" | Howard Deutch | Mark Hudis | June 30, 2013 | 3.94[60] |
| 64 | 4 | "At Last" | Anthony Hemingway | Alexander Woo | July 7, 2013 | 4.14[61] |
| 65 | 5 | "Fuck the Pain Away" | Michael Ruscio | Angela Robinson | July 14, 2013 | 4.54[62] |
| 66 | 6 | "Don't You Feel Me" | Howard Deutch | Daniel Kenneth | July 21, 2013 | 4.47[63] |
| 67 | 7 | "In the Evening" | Scott Winant | Kate Barnow | July 28, 2013 | 4.36[64] |
| 68 | 8 | "Dead Meat" | Michael Lehmann | Robin Veith | August 4, 2013 | 4.17[65] |
| 69 | 9 | "Life Matters" | Romeo Tirone | Brian Buckner | August 11, 2013 | 4.00[66] |
| 70 | 10 | "Radioactive" | Scott Winant | Kate Barnow | August 18, 2013 | 4.14[67] |
Season 7 (2014)
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | US viewers (millions) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 71 | 1 | "Jesus Gonna Be Here" | Stephen Moyer | Angela Robinson | June 22, 2014 | 4.03[68] |
| 72 | 2 | "I Found You" | Howard Deutch | Kate Barnow | June 29, 2014 | 3.06[69] |
| 73 | 3 | "Fire in the Hole" | Lee Rose | Brian Buckner | July 6, 2014 | 3.20[70] |
| 74 | 4 | "Death Is Not the End" | Gregg Fienberg | Daniel Kenneth | July 13, 2014 | 3.23[71] |
| 75 | 5 | "Lost Cause" | Howard Deutch | Craig Chester | July 20, 2014 | 3.57[72] |
| 76 | 6 | "Karma" | Angela Robinson | Angela Robinson | July 27, 2014 | 3.38[73] |
| 77 | 7 | "May Be the Last Time" | Simon Jayes | Craig Chester | August 3, 2014 | 3.39[74] |
| 78 | 8 | "Almost Home" | Jesse Warn | Kate Barnow | August 10, 2014 | 3.34[75] |
| 79 | 9 | "Love Is to Die" | Howard Deutch | Brian Buckner | August 17, 2014 | 3.56[76] |
| 80 | 10 | "Thank You" | Scott Winant | Brian Buckner | August 24, 2014 | 4.04[77] |
Minisodes
HBO began airing six mini-episodes of Drop of True Blood on April 24, 2010 to lead up to the season three premiere.[78][79]
| No. | Title | Written by | Original air date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Eric & Pam" | Alan Ball | April 24, 2010 | |
Eric and Pam audition new dancers for Fangtasia, and eventually meet Yvetta. | ||||
| 2 | "Jessica" | Alan Ball | May 3, 2010 | |
Jessica hunts a local bar/casino when she is approached by a man who senses she has desires. He calls her a dirty whore and preaches to her. Jessica sets his intentions straight with a glamour. | ||||
| 3 | "Sookie, Tara & Lafayette" | Alan Ball | May 11, 2010 | |
Sookie receives a gift from Bill, but gets into an argument with Tara when the latter wonders how Bill makes his living. Lafayette intervenes as the argument turns heated. | ||||
| 4 | "Sam" | Alan Ball | May 18, 2010 | |
Sam tries to destroy "The God Who Comes" metal bull mask, eventually running it over with his truck and then shifting to his dog form to mark it. | ||||
| 5 | "Bill" | Alan Ball | May 25, 2010 | |
While getting ready to meet Sookie for their date, Bill hosts a visit from a jewelry saleswoman (Beth Grant), who has other motivations. | ||||
| 6 | "Jason" | Alan Ball | June 2, 2010 | |
Directly after shooting Eggs, Jason runs into the woods. He pleads for divine help to deal with the problem. A creature approaches him which causes him to run off again; the creature is revealed to be a werepanther. | ||||
Ratings
True Blood : U.S. viewers per episode (millions)
Audience measurement performed by Nielsen Media Research[citation needed]
| Season | Episode number | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | ||
| 1 | 1.44 | 1.79 | 1.81 | 1.82 | 1.74 | 1.67 | 2.10 | 2.07 | 2.35 | 2.39 | 2.65 | 2.45 | |
| 2 | 3.70 | 3.41 | 3.70 | 3.90 | 3.85 | 4.00 | 4.27 | 4.43 | 4.46 | 5.33 | 5.19 | 5.11 | |
| 3 | 5.09 | 4.26 | 4.46 | 4.68 | 4.86 | 4.74 | 5.24 | 5.09 | 5.00 | 5.39 | 5.44 | 5.38 | |
| 4 | 5.42 | 2.90 | 5.04 | 5.10 | 5.26 | 5.19 | 5.14 | 5.30 | 5.53 | 5.31 | 4.39 | 5.05 | |
| 5 | 5.20 | 4.42 | 4.66 | 4.54 | 4.50 | 4.63 | 4.46 | 4.60 | 4.50 | 4.49 | 4.93 | 5.05 | |
| 6 | 4.52 | 4.08 | 3.94 | 4.14 | 4.54 | 4.47 | 4.36 | 4.17 | 4.00 | 4.14 | – | ||
| 7 | 4.03 | 3.06 | 3.20 | 3.23 | 3.57 | 3.38 | 3.39 | 3.34 | 3.56 | 4.04 | – | ||
Specials
| Title | Original air date | U.S. viewers (millions) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| "Farewell to Bon Temps" | June 15, 2014 | 0.839[80] | |
The cast and executive producers talk about their time on the series that leads to a special preview of the final season. | |||
Home video releases
| Season | Episodes | DVD and Blu-ray release dates | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Region 1 | Region 2 | Region 4 | Discs | ||
| 1 | 12 | May 19, 2009[81] | October 26, 2009[82] | July 1, 2009[83] | 5 |
| 2 | 12 | May 25, 2010[84] | May 17, 2010[85] | May 19, 2010[86] | 5 |
| 3 | 12 | May 31, 2011[87] | May 23, 2011[88] | May 18, 2011[89] | 5 |
| 4 | 12 | May 29, 2012[90] | May 21, 2012[91] | May 23, 2012[92] | 5 |
| 5 | 12 | May 21, 2013[93] | May 20, 2013[94] | May 22, 2013[95] | 5 |
| 6 | 10 | June 3, 2014[96] | June 2, 2014[97] | June 4, 2014[98] | 4 |
| 7 | 10 | November 11, 2014[99] | November 10, 2014[100] | November 12, 2014[101] | 4 |
| Total | 80 | November 11, 2014[102] | November 10, 2014[103] | November 12, 2014[104] | 33 |
References
External links
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