Bon voyage, Bon Temps! After six seasons of blood-soaked, high-intensity drama, HBO's hit series True Blood will be coming to an end in 2014, the network announced on Tuesday, Sept. 3.
"True Blood has been nothing short of a defining show for HBO," Michael Lombardo, president of HBO Programming, said in a statement, commending show creator Alan Ball for adapting Charlaine Harris' books into an action-packed, "unforgettable journey." "Together with its legions of fans, it will be hard to say goodbye to the residents of Bon Temps, but I look forward to what promises to be a fantastic final chapter of this incredible show."
The show, which brought stars Anna Paquin, Stephen Moyer, and Alexander Skarsgard to the forefront of Hollywood's A-listers, will return for its seventh and final 10-episode season next summer. Paquin and Moyer, who met during auditions for the series in 2007, even tied the knot in 2010 and welcomed twins together in August 2012.
"From the moment I read Charlaine's books, I thought there was potential for something really special," Ball said of the series. "Then our amazing writers, cast and crew brought her world to life in a way that exceeded my wildest expectations."
The season finale of the sixth season, which aired mid-August, showed Sookie Stackhouse (Paquin) nearly being wrestled into becoming a faerie-vampire bride to bad boy vampire Warlow (Rob Kazinsky) — but Bon Temps' spunky protagonist was saved just in the nick of time by her brother Jason (Ryan Kwanten).
Brian Buckner, who took over for Ball as the series' showrunner in the latter half of its run, said that the hit HBO show won't disappoint in its last chapter.
"As we take a final walk through Bon Temps together, we will do our very best to bring Sookie's story to a close with heart, imagination and, of course, fun," he said.
