Here is an interview with executive producer Alan Ball. Contains spoilers for season 3, so you have been warned.
After a wildly successful second season, True Blood executive producer Alan Ball says he and the cast and crew are already sinking their teeth into Season 3, promising that the sexy vampire thriller “just stays big and weird and fun.”
“After last season you would think things would sort of return to normal – but no, that’s not going to happen!” Ball told TV Guide Magazine. “No, there’s just as much weird stuff out there, and we’re going to meet some werewolves for the first time; we’re going to find out some roles vampires played in history, which is interesting and shocking and funny. It’s more of the same.”
I am looking at pictures of locations and looking at models of new sets and stuff, so we’re back,” said Ball. “I have four scripts that I am going, four first drafts, and I’m going over them and making some revisions with the writing staff, and we’ve already cast a major role: the vampire king of Mississippi, who’s going to be played by Dennis O’Hare, which I’m very, very excited about.” O’Hare’s a Tony-, Obie- and Drama Desk Award-winning actor best known to television audiences for his recurring role as Travis March on Brothers & Sisters.
While the rollercoaster relationship of Sookie Stackhouse (Anna Paquin) and Bill Compton (Stephen Moyer) remains front and center, Ball revealed that several supporting characters will be sharing even more of the spotlight. “Definitely Eric has broken out and is a big important character now. Jessica and Hoyt are still trying to deal with everything that happened to them, and Arlene and Terry are going to have a little bit more of a life and more of a presence on the show.”
There’s also room for guest stars, like Evan Rachel Wood’s vampire queen of Louisiana. “She’ll be back,” promised Ball. “Maybe Zeljko Ivanek, who played the Magister in Season 1 – he might be back. And we do have a lot of fun new characters.”
Sam Trammell, who plays the hapless but heroic bar owner/changeling Sam Merlotte, added that Season 3 is “going to explore my relatives and the sort of sketchy, shapeshifter-y people in my family, and that’s going to be more torture for Sam. I’m sure they’re not going to be good people.” But will Sam’s still-burning torch for Sookie also be a source of torment? “Well, I hope he still has a shot with Sookie, but who knows? Probably not.”
Trammell said that the wildly enthusiastic response to Season 2 has left the actors “psyched” to return to work on Dec. 3. “We couldn’t believe the numbers that we got,” he said. “We were just sort of stunned. Yeah, we were kind of working in a bubble for most of last year and certainly year one, because it hadn’t come out. And now we know that people are really into it and on board, so we’re psyched to see they’ve written.”
The creative team hasn’t been overly stressed out about topping the all-out mayhem of Season 2. “We have a great head start in that we have these fantastic books that Charlaine Harris wrote,” said Ball. “It’s not like we have a blank slate and say ‘Oh my God, what are we going to do?’ So we’re using book three as the model for Season 3. And there’s nine of them and she publishes one every year, so I feel like ‘Just keep ‘em comin’.’
And while Ball admits he felt a twinge of worry when he found out about the real-life romance between stars Paquin and Moyer, he’s thrilled that the couple is rock-solid now that they’re engaged.
“When I first found out I was like ‘Uh-oh – no!’” he laughed. “But by now it’s very clear that it’s the real deal and they’re very, very happy. Anna said to me at a party, after I said ‘You look fantastic,’ she said ‘Well, I’m happy, and happier than I’ve ever been in my life and a lot of it is thanks to you.’ It’s great to know that. I just want everybody working on the show to be happy, and so far they are.
Source: Scott Huver @ TVGuide Magazine
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