EXCLUSIVE: HBO
is officially shopping its campy vamp drama True Blood to basic cable
networks, a network spokesman confirmed June 22. The network has held
meetings to pitch the show, but it hasn't been sold yet and a premiere date has
not been set.
Charles
Schreger, president of HBO Enterprises, is leading the network's efforts to
sell the show domestically.
True
Blood's third season premiered on Sunday, June 13, with 5.1 million viewers
tuning in. That was up nearly 40% from the season-two opener, which was the
network's most-watched series episode since The Sopranos went off the
air in June 2007.
HBOannounced June 21 that it had picked up the show for a fourth season, although sources say that renewal had been a done deal for weeks in light
of the show's popularity. Season four is due to premiere next summer.
True
Blood, based on Charlaine Harris' Southern vampire mysteries, stars Anna
Paquin as Sookie Stackhouse, a telepathic waitress who has a vampire for a boyfriend
(Stephen Moyer) and frequently finds herself drawn into the affairs of
supernatural creatures in the fictional town of Bon Temps, Louisiana. It also
stars Ryan Kwanten, Alexander Skarsgard, Sam Trammell, Rutina Welsey and Nelsan
Ellis.
True
Blood is created and executive produced by Alan Ball, who also created
another HBO hit, Six Feet Under.
