HBO Orders Second Season of True Blood

LOS ANGELES, September 18:
HBO has renewed the new drama series True Blood, from Six Feet Under creator Alan Ball,
for a second season.

The series will begin
production of new episodes early next year in Los Angeles and will premiere in
summer 2009. The September 7 premiere episode has attracted more than 4 million
viewers to date, while the debut of the second episode on September 14 posted a
24-percent gain in viewers over the first week.

True Blood takes place when vampires no longer feed on humans
thanks to the invention of mass-produced synthetic blood. Set in a backwoods
Louisiana town, the show follows the romance between waitress Sookie
Stackhouse, who can read minds, and 173-year-old vampire Bill Compton. The
series is created and executive produced by Ball and is based on the Sookie
Stackhouse novels by Charlaine Harris.

“We are absolutely
thrilled that the critics and our viewers have embraced True Blood,” said Michael Lombardo, the president of
programming group and West Coast operations. “Alan Ball has done it
again—made an addictive series that is unlike any other.”

—By Jackie Stewart