Six Feet Under was a gas, to be sure, with its acerbic depressives with hearts on their sleeves, lives full of sex, and death all around them but the sad perfection of its ending put a button on the searching need present in every one of its episodes. It reintroduces us to Anna Paquin, no longer a sweet brunette playing little sister to Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine in Fox’s X-Men films, she enters her television era as a blonde bombshell with surplus sass.įans coming into this world on the strength of its Alan Ball pedigree were surprised the man could have this much fun. It’s got personality to spare but doesn’t want to scare us away by being all of itself all at once. We meet True Blood as a humble series that only wants to entertain. Season 3 is not the last time the show keeps all its motors running smoothly, but it’s definitely the first time its check-engine light comes on, marking the end of a brief, zeitgeist-seizing run with a reasonable sense of quality control. There’s a lot of fun to be had, but a lot of characters start getting baffling arcs (Jason and Tara most notably), some of whom will never again get a decent thread. The man chews scenery even when speaking in a conversational tone, and he presents a splitting of the series from its camp-flavored horror-drama first two seasons and its horror-flavored fantasy-soap last several. But the thing it does that leaves a mark on its fanbase, and the universe of the show, is introduce vampire king Russell Edgington, played with impish delight by Denis O’Hare. This season introduces werewolves and werepanthers officially to the mix and fleshes out many storylines planted in season 2, including Eric’s intricate relationship with his sire Godric ( Allan Hyde). It gains a self-awareness that becomes a wearying part of its DNA going forward, and an almost, dare we say, network television-like approach to character (which is to say, broader and not always consistent, but always convenient). Here is where True Blood becomes quite obviously aware of its own reputation. It’s a mostly-fun season that largely isn’t insulting to anyone’s intelligence, and it’s the last time the show will create such a thing. We get a pre- Yellowstone Luke Grimes, pre- Lovecraft Country Jurnee Smollett, as well as the legendary Rutger Hauer. The writers come up with some good reasons to play to their series’ strengths (sex, violence, and metaphor-laden character drama) and a couple pretty good villains in the form of an overpowered Bill Compton (Stephen Moyer) and the mysterious vampire Warlow. Instead, it is the last creative height of the show’s run. Adding to that, Anna Paquin’s pregnancy requiring a reduced episode count, the sixth season could’ve easily played out like a rote shrug, satisfying nothing save various contractual obligations. That’s a lot of behind-the-scenes shuffling for a single season. But at some point during production Hudis also stepped down, and Brian Buckner (on the show since the beginning) was set as the show’s EP instead. So: Alan Ball leaves the show in Season 5 and Mark Hudis (an addition to the writing team for its fourth season) was installed as executive producer. RELATED: 'True Blood': Anna Paquin Is Optimistic About the Reboot, Even If She's Surprised it's Happening Let's sift through the red cups and confetti to determine which seasons kept the energy going, and which had us wishing we’d stayed in bed. Based on characters from the Southern Vampire Mysteries book series by author Charlaine Harris, its cast was stacked with talent: Stephen Moyer, Alexander Skarsgård, Rutina Wesley, Nelsan Ellis, Joe Manganiello, Ryan Kwanten, Lizzy Caplan, Denis O’Hare, Kristin Bauer van Straten, Deborah Ann Woll, and loads more.įor a couple of seasons, it was the best party on television. Paquin - weaponized Southern accent locked and loaded-had chemistry with nearly every scene partner the show gave her, and delivered even as the show started to crumble around her. It was led by Academy Award-winning actress Anna Paquin doing a career reboot, early-adopting television as the place for actors to be taken seriously. By the end of its first season, though, it was the highest-rated show on its network, thanks in part by Twilight entering the chat during that season’s run, partly because it was a revelation of talent.
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