Summary
Ten years afterTrue Bloodcame to an end, I can finally celebrate HBO’s announcement that the perfect vampire replacement is in the works: an adaptation ofThe Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires. Created by Alan Ball,True Bloodis based onThe Southern Vampire Mysteries, a series of bestselling novels by Charlaine Harris. Set in Bon Temps, Louisiana, the fantasy drama centers on Sookie Stackhouse (Anna Paquin), a telepathic human-fairy hybrid living in a world where synthetic blood has allowed vampires to live more openly than before. Trust me:True Bloodis peak 2010s TV.
To me, the most compelling part of the series is the vampire activism — a thinly veiled metaphor for LGBTQ+ rights, which comes into conflict with the hateful anti-vamp movement. Elsewhere, Sookie falls in love with vampire Bill Compton (Stephen Moyer). Packed with gore and even more sex, the series ran from 2008 untilTrue Blood’s disappointing endingaired in 2014. Pulpy and endlessly watchable, I thinkTrue Blood’s cast of characterselevates the series and makes it memorable a decade later. AlthoughHBO nixed plans for aTrue Bloodreboot, the network finally has a perfect replacement.
The Southern Book Club’s Guide To Slaying Vampires Show Is Finally Happening
Grady Hendrix’s Bestselling Horror Novel Makes The Jump To The Screen
Toward the end of July 2024,Deadlinereported that a TV series adaptation ofThe Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires, a horror novel by Grady Hendrix, jumped from Amazon Prime Video to HBO. I must admit, AMC’sInterview with the Vampireseries isthevampire show these days — and one of thebest horror TV shows of 2024— butHBO has a solid track record with the sub-genre thanks toTrue Blood. Although hardly anyone is attached, I’m also happy that Hendrix will adapt his work alongsideThe Righteous Gemstones' Danny McBride and Edi Patterson.
[Patricia] enlists her book club to help her protect their tight-knight community…
Set in Charleston, South Carolina, during the 1990s,The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampirescenters on suburban homemaker Patricia Campbell, who finds escapist joy in her true-crime book club. After an elderly neighbor attacks Patricia, she meets the mysterious James.Patricia soon suspects that the ever-charming James is actually a vampire, and enlists her book club to help her protect their community from the alleged blood-sucking entity. Honestly, I thinkThe Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampiresis a solid read for fans ofTrue Blood’s 7 seasons— and, moreover, its source material.
10 Harsh Realities Of Rewatching True Blood, 15 Years Later
Despite being a hit vampire drama at its debut, True Blood, upon rewatch, unveils unsettling revelations that are challenging to reconcile.
What Grady Hendrix’s Vampire Story Has In Common With True Blood
Southern Horror Tropes Connect Southern Book Club’s Guide To Slaying Vampires With HBO’s True Blood
I’m not the first to say it: certainthings went wrong with True Blood’s later seasons — really wrong. Still, the show boasts several fun outings. One thing I never tired of wasTrue Blood’s fully realized setting — and heaps of Southern charm. Similarly,The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampiresis also firmly rooted in the Southern horror sub-genre. Packed with mystery elements, and the plot of tight-knit groups banding together against the supernatural, there’s no denying that Hendrix’s book bears a passing resemblance toTrue Blood’s first few — and, arguably, best — seasons.
All seven seasons ofTrue Bloodare streaming on Max.
true blood
True Blood is a horror/fantasy drama series created by Alan Ball and starring Anna Paquin, Stephen Moyer, and Alexander Skarsgård. The series follows the life of Sookie Stackhouse, a waitress with telepathic powers that lives in a fictional town in Louisiana. In this town, a new synthetic “drug” has allowed vampires to escape their coffins and roam amongst the living.
