"Werewolves, to be exact, will join the peculiar world of vampires, shape-shifters and mind readers who spice up the third-season HBO drama, returning June 13 (9 ET/PT).
"It's just another element added to the supernatural craziness of it all," says Anna Paquin, who plays the telepathic Sookie Stackhouse. "There's no way you can ever get bored on a show like this. When you think you've seen it all and done it all, something weirder and wilder comes out of the woodwork."
CALENDAR: Check out TV offerings this summer Weirder and wilder should provide an infusion of Oh! positive for an avid fan base that more than doubled during Blood's second season to 5 million viewers for each episode's first broadcast. Adding in replay, DVR and on-demand viewing, Blood ranks second only to The Sopranos among HBO series in total viewership.
The thirst for Blood may be unquenchable. Fan site true-blood.net reports more than four times as many visitors in the past 30 days as in the corresponding period in 2009.
Why do fans respond so strongly? "Part of us yearns for the muck of the primal," says series creator and executive producer Alan Ball. "We still have part of us that feels in awe of nature and all of the stuff that is bigger and scarier than us. ... I think True Blood has evolved into a show that can feed that desire, that incorporates fear, terror, sex and transcendent behavior in a way that's really entertaining and funny at the same time."
And over-the-top bloody, of course.
The series roughly follows the popular Sookie Stackhouse novels of Charlaine Harris, which focus on the mind reader and her relationships with vampire boyfriend Bill Compton and other folks (human and otherwise) in rural Bon Temps, La.
The new season, which introduces werewolves, more shape-shifters and the byzantine world of vampire politics, corresponds to the third novel, Club Dead.
"This is classic, escapist fun," says Stephen Moyer, who co-stars as the 173-year-old Bill. "You can read it on so many levels. It can be an hour of escapist drama. You also can watch it for comedy, suspense, as a thriller, as a horror. It's an audacious show."
Continue reading here...