The Best Vampire Series Reboot Is Officially Not Happening Anymore
Warner Bros Discovery has canceled a reboot of True Blood.
Vampires are all over television now, from the sinister Lestat in Interview With The Vampire on AMC to one of the best shows on TV in FX’s What We Do In The Shadows, but 15 years ago, HBO was the only place to go if you were in the mood to suck. True Blood, the blockbuster cable series based on the novels by Charlaine Harris, was the best vampire series to hit TV back in 2008. A report from Variety explaining what’s going on with Warner Bros. Discovery confirms that the True Blood reboot has been canceled.
Originally announced in 2020, the return to Bon Temps, Lousiana, would be helmed by original creator Alan Ball and Roberto Aguierre-Sacasa, the showrunner of Riverdale. Bringing back the creative mind behind the original hit series and the man responsible for the series most like True Blood on network TV is the closest we’ll ever get to the perfect match of creator and concept. Ominously, fans haven’t had much news since the initial announcement, and now we know that the series never got off the ground.
HBO and HBO Max Content CEO Casey Bloys explained that despite working on a few scripts, “nothing that felt like it got there.” While Warner Bros. Discovery has been canceling shows with an alarming frequency lately, this is one case where maybe it’s better to let a show stand on its own without revisiting it a decade later. Even Charlaine Harris has moved on in her novels, setting a trilogy in Texas and then an alternate-universe take on the United States in Annie Rose.
True Blood was a phenom that helped HBO grow past its previous hit, the Sopranos, and reach a new audience. The sexy supernatural series is now an all-star cast, but most stars used the show as a launchpad to further success. Almost 10 years removed from the series finale, it’s hard to remember when Alexander Skarsgaard was mostly known for being “the son of Stellan.”
The rest of the award-winning cast included Anna Paquin, Stephen Moyer, Rutina Wesley, Ryan Kwanten, Sam Trammel, Chris Bauer, Deborah Ann Woll, Denis O’Hare, and Joe Manganiello. Guest stars throughout the series included Stephen Root, Robert Patrick, Anna Camp, Christopher Meloni, and Rutger Hauer. Any attempt to reboot True Blood would have to contend with a cast constantly being compared to the original actors, and no one can fill the shoes of that cast.
In addition to trying to replace famous stars in their best roles, what would a reboot be about? The original series deviated wildly from the source material, keeping Lafayette alive and introducing a Djinn, so a book-accurate take could be one way to go. However, the later seasons ran out of steam, giving the impression that Alan Ball was already running out of ideas.
It’s easy these days to get mad at Warner Bros. Discovery, but this is one case where resisting the urge to put out a weak show to cash in on an established game should be commended. True Blood was an amazing show with an incredible cast, but its time has come and gone.
