Happy 39th Birthday to HBO!

To the people that brought us True Blood, Six Feet Under, and the GREATEST piece of television of all time, The Sopranos... Happy Birthday.

Fake Ad for True Blood-Themed Vampire Sunscreen

You know how Sookie's faerie blood acts as a temporary sun-repellent for the vamps on True Blood? Somehow, after feeding on Sookie, they're temporarily able walk in the daylight without burning and spontaneously-combusting into a pile of goo. Well, graphic artist John Defreest, has created an ad for a Vampire Grade Sunblock, made with 'real' fairy blood! It's genius, I tell you - genius!

Vulture.com

Jason Stackhouse is the Best

Jason: "There's werewolves?"
Sookie: "Yes"
Jason: "Shit! Bigfoot? Is he real too?"
Sookie: "I don't know, I guess it's possible."
Jason: "Santa?!"
Sookie: "Jason! Focus."

Customize your Facebook Profile for Season 4 of True Blood

Trubies, there are only 4 sleeps till the season 4 premiere of True Blood on HBO. And to commemorate the occasion (and garner a little bit of extra buzz and publicity), HBO has found a way to make use of the photostrip on your Facebook profile. I've just customized my Facebook page for this weekend's premiere, and you can too. Haven't seen any other Entertainment brands find a way to utilize the photostrip up until now. And to top if off, it's free advertising for the show, directly from loyal brand ambassadors like me. So if you're my Facebook friend and you didn't know about this weekend's premiere (cuz you're hiding under a rock or a total loser, or something...), well now you do.

Interactive True Blood Teaser on Facebook

Taking a page from the Old Spice marketing handbook, True Blood has once again made me remember why I love the show, not just for putting out the sexiest, most addictive hour of television, but because it's a brand that really knows who their customers are, and what we want from them.

True Blood fans want more, (and more and more and more), between seasons and especially in the few weeks leading up to a new season. Teasing us beyond belief, every clip, every poster, every video, is aimed at reminding fans why they fell in love with True Blood in the first place, whetting our appetites and making us hungry for more.

This time they've created an interactive teaser on their Facebook page. After (and only after) you 'like' the page, you can create a personalized video featuring you, Facebook friends you choose, and the supporting characters you know and love from Bons Temps. And I'm not going to lie, my heart skipped a beat when Eric sent me a pretend-instant-message in the vid. I know it's not real life but they were able to create a very personal and innovative experience for fans to be part of their supernatural world, even if just virtually.


If anything, it's something for Trubies (for non-fans, Trubies are to True Blood, what Gleeks are to Glee) to do while we impatiently wait for Season 4 to start - June 26th! Plus they got you to 'like' their Facebook page, and maybe even share your personalized video through your profile. I did, here's mine.

HBO Gets Even More Social with HBO Connect

HBO Connect

HBO doesn't take its status as premium cable lightly. To them, being premium isn't just about taking your money, but about offering something valuable to subscribers, over and above programming - offering a premium (if I may be so obvious). Let me start off by saying that I've never hidden my affinity for HBO - I love the brand, I love the content they put out, and I'm proud to call myself a loyal subscriber. As an entertainment brand, HBO understands that being a fan isn't about tuning in once a week, for an hour, to watch your favourite characters. They know that today, if you're a fan, you want it all. You want True Blood 24/7. You want to know what Jessica's been up to, and know everything and anything Alexander Skarsgård is doing. HBO has been doing whatever it takes to keep up with its viewers' foray into the online world, and so I'm not too surprised about their newest venture into social media - HBO Connect.

TrueBlood Connect

The name alone says it all, HBO 'Connect'. It works to bring together and compile whatever's being said online, about HBO's various TV brands, and will also feature live commentaries and Q&A sessions from our favourite characters. Meaning, you'll get to watch True Blood while following a a plethora of fans talking about the episode in real time, which may even include stars of the show. People are already talking, so here's where fans would go to see what's being said. As a platform for passionate fans to interact more with the television brands they love, HBO is well on its way to turning single show subscribers into HBO brand ambassadors. Or maybe it's just me.

Sink Your Fangs into the Latest True Blood Season 4 Promos

By now, if you're even a remotely dedicated True Blood fan, you will probably have seen the recently released Season 4 promos. And if not, shame on you. But in all seriousness, fang-banging fans only have one month of True Blood withdrawal to grudgingly get through before HBO takes us back to Bon Temps in what looks to be an epic season. Epic, I say, because, well, those of you Truebies who've read Charlaine Harris' Southern Vampire Mysteries know what's coming next. Now, why is it that I don't live in a place where I might find a naked Viking wandering aimlessly on the side of the road?!





Waiting sucks.

June 26th on HBO.

Social Media Marketing for Entertainment

We want what we want, when we want it. Remember the time you used to have to go to the library to get information you needed? Now, when we want to know something, we don’t dust off the old encyclopaedia, we grab our iPhone and Google it. We check Twitter to see the latest status updates and we get the information ourselves, instead of waiting for some news outlet to release it to us.

The same changes apply to the Entertainment industry. In this day and age, if you want to release a movie successfully, you can’t just put out a trailer and newspaper ad, and expect people to show up. Social Media has transformed the public’s access to pretty much everything and everyone. You can even follow and send Twitter messages to your favourite actors. Talk about a modern form of fan mail, right?

So what can you do to stand out?

1. Offer access to exclusive content.
   
   As a reward for loyalty, you need to give your fans a backstage pass to star interviews, sneak peeks, Livestream interviews, and even behind-the-scenes access to exclusive events with live-tweeting. HBO (a social media role model of mine) has perfected the art of social media branding and marketing, putting their energy into fan outreach. With character and program blogs for some of their most popular shows (Margene's Blog, Lloyd's Diary, Babyvamp Jessica, Inside True Blood), fans get extra content to stay engaged between episodes. Each week, HBO programs hold Twitter contests that get thousands of entries from all over the world. The promotions don’t stop between seasons either, it’s an ongoing process. In promotion for season 3 of True Blood, HBO released a video poking fun at traditional PR, while putting out one new poster ad each week, for the twelve weeks prior to the premiere. Those posters went viral as fans scrambled to collect them all, and created some serious buzz in the process. Most recently, as fans impatiently await season 4 of True Blood, HBO had the entire cast participate in a panel at Paleyfest, to divulge some highly anticipated teasers.
   
   
2. Build your relationship with fans through constant interaction.
   
   To become more than a faceless brand to fans, there needs to be a genuine connection that will lead to a lasting relationship. This means, you need to answer every question, RT and reply to every Twitter mention, and really establish a dialogue with fans. Rewarding fans with contests and giveaways are also great to boost followers, but the key to keeping those new followers around once the giveaway is over, is a continued flow of exclusive content.
   
   
3. Evolve-Evolve-Evolve.
   
   Just when you think you have it all figured out, something new comes along. If you start getting too comfortable your marketing routine, you're probably out-dated. Stay on top of new technology and get involved with new social media platforms as they come out.
   
   GetGlue – it’s about what you like, not what you are like. It's the perfect match for Entertainment brands because fans get recognition for ‘checking in’ to TV shows, movies, etc., similar to foursquare check-ins. Some entertainment brands like HBO and Showtime even offer discounts on online purchases, for a certain number of check-ins. Plus, GetGlue checkins can be connected to users’ Facebook and Twitter status updates so imagine the kind of publicity you can get from that.
    
   Groupon - the leader in this whole social buying phenomenon right now, with 60 million online subscribers looking for the latest deal. The way it works is, if a certain number of people sign up for the offer, then the deal becomes available. People spread the word using social media, to help make the deal available. Just recently, Lionsgate partnered with Groupon, offering a half-price ticket promotions for The Lincoln Lawyer. Nothing makes you want to buy something more than a deadline for purchase, and a 50% discount. 

We're all fighting to get through the cluttered marketing environment and be noticed. By going directly where fans are spending their time - on social media platforms, it conveys the message that your brand, regardless of size, understands who your customers are and can relate to them on a personal level. Nurturing loyal followers will convert them from passing fans into so much more - life-long ambassadors for your brand.

True Blood Season 4 Spoiler - Waiting Sucks

True Blood's Season 4 premiere may still be a few months away but for die-hard, fang-banging fans, the fun and anticipation has already begun. HBO has become a social media powerhouse when it comes to TV, known for its fresh and exciting buzz-marketing campaigns to keep fans interested in between seasons. Remember the hilarious True Blood videos and poster campaign from last season? Well, apart from the spoilers that may or may not have been released at PaleyFest this past weekend (the entire cast was in attendance, including the dreamy Alexander Skarsgard!), HBO has just released the first official teaser video for True Blood Season 4. Talk about a teaser! Eric, shirtless, all vulnerable and sad? I am definitely teased.

For those who've read the Sookie Stackhouse series of novels that the show's based on, you know what's going on in this scene. Season 4 picks up right around the beginning of book 4: Dead to the World. So when you see a shirtless Eric, you know what's going on and why Eric's acting all 'deer in the headlights'. Although, I have to say I'm pretty sure he was wandering around naked, and not shirtless, in the book. Just saying.

Waiting Sucks, so hopefully the teaser videos and whatever HBO has planned, will keep us occupied till True Blood makes its return.

HBO and Showtime 2011 Premiere Dates

The latest HBO 2011 Premiere info for Entourage, Boardwalk Empire and How to Make It in America!

Everyone's favourite spring and summer cable shows are finally coming back to TV! Seriously, I love cable and all, but it's hard to handle the too-short seasons and super-long hiatus between them. The HBO and Showtime networks have released the following premiere dates - so fans, go ahead and set your PVRs to record. Too early? Maybe so, but still...

United States of Tara Season 3 (Showtime) starts March 28, 2011.


Nurse Jackie Season 3 (Showtime) starts March 28, 2011.

HBO's finally confirming that True Blood Season 4 (HBO) will premiere June 26, 2011. Thank God, cuz Waiting Sucks.

Weeds Season 7 (Showtime) starts June 27, 2011.

The unofficial word (as in, not directly from HBO) is that the premiere date for the 8th and final season of Entourage (HBO) is July 24, 2011 and I've heard rumors that How To Make It in America (HBO) will be back for it's second season sometime in April 2011, although, according to Lake Bell (Rachel on HTMIIA), they'll be shooting in NYC for the next three months.




UPDATE: The latest, straight from Bryan Greenberg himself, is that How to Make it in America's season 2 premiere date is sometime in September, 2011.

The Vampire Diaries is Really Good - No Joke!

Unless you've been hiding under a rock the past couple of years, you're at least aware of the vampire phenomenon that's taken over. Just like the boyband craze of the 90s, it's everywhere, from tv to movies to books. Well, except for the fact that these vampires stories aren't just for kids - they seem to resonate with ladies of all ages. I credit this, not to the (very poorly written but somehow very addictive) Twilight books, but to cult classic of the last decade: Buffy the Vampire Slayer. You see, that's when vampires in pop culture shifted from being evil, one-sided creatures, to conflicted characters we could actually relate to. Like Angel (Buffy) and Brad Pitt (Interview with the Vampire), we loved them for always being in constant turmoil with their nonexistent souls. Just like we love a bad boy trying to be good.

Anyway, when you move aside all the gorgeous faces (and bodies!) in Twilight, minus Kristen Stewart's constant scowl and mumbling, there's nothing left besides author Stephanie Meyer's message of abstinence and avoiding temptation of the 'forbidden fruit'. Like, we get it, you can't have sex before marriage. If you do, you'll die. Well not quite, but that's how she puts it.

But whether you're Team Edward or Team Jacob, or in my case, Team Eric (True Blood), there are ways to get your Vampire fix without feeling like you're twelve years old. I've already raved about True Blood, but those without cable can still get their fix from The Vampire Diaries.

I'm not even joking when I say that The Vampire Diaries is a quality piece of supernatural television, right there in between the raunchy masterpiece of True Blood and the teenybopper crap-fest of Twilight. Now in it's second season, each episode is gripping from beginning to end, with vampires, werewolves and witches that seem to blend their supernatural lives with high school quite seamlessly.

It's compellingly witty, and each character is conflicted and colourful, (and not bad to look at either), with enough young men (and women) around to satisfy your need for both good boys and bad boys!

2010 Emmy Picks

Personal Disclaimer: I am completely obsessed with TV, but I openly favour cable over network shows, for their freedom of creativity and all-around disdain for recycled material.

If I sit and go through all the notable categories, I will literally be writing for days, so instead, I’ll just highlight on a few main categories that I have an opinion on.  As per usual, I expect the Emmy’s to mimic the Globes so we’ll probably see a lot of the same winners.

Outstanding Drama Series

Breaking Bad (AMC)

Dexter (Showtime)

Mad Men (AMC)

Lost (ABC)

The Good Wife (CBS)

True Blood (HBO)

The Outstanding Drama category is a tough one for me, and I’m thrilled that it has recognized Dexter, Mad Men and True Blood.  Although I love True Blood, the Mary Anne storyline was pretty far-fetched and annoying last season, while Dexter and Mad Men kept me wanting more. (and more and more). Dexter, for its ability to keep us on edge and managing to keep such a shocking twist under-wraps until the finale, and Mad Men, for taking us into a new era for its characters, with topics like divorce and depression, and Don’s ability to somehow, still make the audience love him despite his many shortcomings.  While we impatiently wait for season 5 to start, take a look what’s to come for our dear Dexter.

My pick: Dexter

Outstanding Comedy Series 

30 Rock (NBC)

Curb Your Enthusiasm (HBO)

Glee (FOX)

Modern Family (ABC)

Nurse Jackie (Showtime)

The Office (NBC)

What a great year for fresh, new, comedies!  This being the year of GLEE, I can’t ignore the fact that they’re the fan favourite, even with the gimmicky shift felt after the unnecessarily long, mid-season break.  But, as a diehard Nurse Jackie fan (Edie Falco, you will always and forever be my Carmela), I love the show’s ability to make serious issues absolutely hilarious, especially with Dr. Coop, who steals the show. (Peter Facinelli, yes ladies, Carlisle Cullen)  How this guy ended up being THIS FUNNY, I have no idea, but I find myself looking forward to every scene he’s in.  This year will, however, go to Modern Family, with a very interesting and funny portrayal of the modern-day idea of what a family is.  Don’t get me wrong, I watch and love Modern Family, but it’s sad that really off-the-wall, dark comedies don’t get credit where they should.
My pick: Modern Family

Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series
Bryan Cranston on Breaking Bad (AMC)
Michael C. Hall on Dexter (Showtime)
Kyle Chandler on Friday Night Lights (DirecTV)
Hugh Laurie on House (Fox)
Matthew Fox on Lost (ABC)
Jon Hamm on Mad Men (AMC)

I’m torn between Michael C. Hall, whom I love as dark and demented Dexter Morgan and Jon Hamm, (my favourite sinner since Tony Soprano) from Mad Men.  Michael C. Hall will definitely take this one, he won the Globe, and he was phenomenal as his character has come close as he probably ever will, to feeling love and loss for (spoiler alert!) his wife, who he found brutally murdered in the season finale. 
My pick: Michael C. Hall

Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series 

Lea Michele on Glee (FOX)

Julia Louis-Dreyfus on The New Adventures of Old Christine (CBS)
Edie Falco on Nurse Jackie (Showtime)
Amy Poehler on Parks And Recreation (NBC)
Tina Fey on 30 Rock (NBC)
Toni Collette on United States of Tara (Showtime)

This is getting super super long-winded so let me just highlight on a few other memorable performances this past year.  Toni Collette MUST WIN for Actress in a comedy, for her role in United States of Tara.  She’s amazing, able to channel various different characters switching at the drop of a hat.  And she won the Globe for her role, so deservingly. 
My pick: Toni Collette

Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series
Sharon Gless on Burn Notice (USA)
Rose Byrne on Damages (FX)
Archie Panjabi on The Good Wife (CBS)
Christine Baranski on The Good Wife (CBS)
Christina Hendricks on Mad Men (AMC)
Elisabeth Moss on Mad Men (AMC)

We saw a different side of Christina Hendricks’ character this past season.  She had more than two dimensions, emotions which she had previously kept tightly hidden from her colleagues and lovers.  We saw beneath the surface at the first generation of the feminist, but with a twist.  Instead of hating men and being pro-woman, she uses what she has been given as a woman (ahem, those gorgeous curves!!!) to her advantage.  I love her. And her red hair.
My pick (duh): Christina Hendricks



Enough with the rambling, tune in this Sunday, August 29th to find out if any of my favourites take home a statue!

HBOhmygod, I love you just as you are.

In the world of TV, it’s not enough anymore to have a great story.  To survive in today’s environment, networks that are managing to come out on top are keeping up with what people want. 

HBO understands this, that interaction between viewers and the brand only helps to enhance the experience.  They manage to stand out from the crowd and connect with us right where we’re already spending our time, online.

Aside from the usual Facebook pages, they have character blogs and twitter accounts, that completely take on the behaviours of the characters we already love.  If you’re a fan, make sure you take a look at Vampire Jessica's (True Blood) and Lloyd's (Entourage) blogs. We all love to get a little something extra.

Also, fans of foursquare need  to check out my new favourite iPhone app, GetGlue.  HBO’s even gotten involved, giving out badges for ‘checking in’ to certain movies, music, tv shows, etc.  Not going to lie, but as an entertainment geek, I’m already obsessed with checking-in and offering my two cents.  GetGlue, it’s genius.

New movies and shows coming out should take notice, because people are watching!  Even Snoop Dogg, who recently wrote a song and made a music video dedicated to Sookie Stackhouse and the True Blood Gang!



Given that it’s a cable television channel, the buzz they’ve managed to create around True Blood is crazy.  Their poster teasers prior to this season got fans so interested that we were eagerly counting down till the first episode (or maybe it was just me).  And it doesn’t hurt that the product is genuinely good, although I may be biased.

Oh, and just to add to my love of cable tv, I totally got retweeted by the official Weeds Twitter account!  That's pretty cool when you're a fan.

July, in a nutshell.

Things I'm loving right now:

Lady Gaga: Oh my Gaga.  Last week’s concert at the ACC was one of the best I’ve ever been to.  And guess what, she danced and sang at the same time with No lip-syncing!  See Britney, it can be done.  Her voice is amazing.  Gaga sings (and sometimes yells) straight from the heart and it’s so raw when she does.  People tend to get distracted by the costumes and façade of her image and button-pushing videos, but when you strip all that away and it’s her sitting at a piano, belting out a song like Speechless, you are left speechless at how breathtakingly beautiful the experience of it is.

True blood Season 3: I can’t even explain how excited I get on Sunday nights (actually, I usually watch on Monday nights) when I get to slip into the magical and most of the time, very colourful Bon Temps and get to live in this world were sexy vampires and werewolves cause a lot of ruckus.  Growing up watching Buffy and now with this Twilight craziness, this is obviously something so relevant, especially teens, no matter what the decade.  Something about eternal love just makes us girls swoon!  That and Alexander Skarsgard.

Vanessa Marcil’s upcoming return to GH: I’m regularly googling her name this week, just to make sure she’s still planning on reprising her epic role as Brenda on GH.  I know I may seem ridiculous at doing that but who the hell cares.  According to one post I found, the official date is August 11.

The Hills is finally over so maybe now I can look forward to the beginning of the end of reality TV? – HA.  I literally laugh out loud at the thought.  It’s probably just wishful thinking, but that would be just divine.  I’m so sick of having to get through endless reports on Jake, Vienna and company just to see some actual entertainment news.  (I do, however, appreciate the absurdity that is Jersey Shore, a guilty pleasure of mine as; you are free to judge my hypocrisy.)

All Apologies - 2 days left till Season 3 of TRUE BLOOD premieres!

In a word - GENIUS!

HBO's latest viral video is none other than a carefully crafted apology video spoof, poking fun at the bad rep PR people get for their scripted videos full of product plugs and teleprompters. It's funny and awkward, really uncovering the elements of dark comedy that exist beneath all the sex and well, blood.

Ah, I'm so buying into all of these teaser videos and posters...2 days left. Also, keep in mind I so want that card for my birthday.

Missed the latest TRUE BLOOD trailer played during finale of LOST!

Can I just complain that in this day and age, and for a show that I really thought has, up until now, really understood how to use social media successfully to create buzz around the upcoming, and highly anticipated season 3, that TRUE BLOOD kind of sucks today.

How can they upload weekly, teaser posters (so clever are each, I might add), online mini-sodes, and utilize Twitter so magnificently for contests and discussions around the Vamp and Were cultures, BUT, at the same time...have the newest TRUE BLOOD trailer promo shown ONLY during the season finale of LOST.

Basically I'm bitter that I'm not a die-hard LOST fan and won't be able to see this trailer until someone who recorded it, uploads it.

Come on HBO, don't get caught up with all the LOST final episode hooplah and stick with your original plan which is to ....wait, nevermind, I guess whatever they're doing is working because here I am, talking about season 3 of True Blood and ranting and raving because I missed some super exclusive trailer.

Hmm, touché

Season of Season Finales

Spring has come and almost gone, and with that, a huge lot of network season finales to choose from. To be completely honest, I've almost given up on network TV for its lack of originality and boring storylines. Basically, it's getting harder and harder for these shows to fight for valuable viewership time.

As it happens every year, networks are canceling both new and long-running shows to make way for a new dose of what they call 'originality', and sometimes this makes sense but of course, I don't always agree.

Number one on me OMG moments for the end of this season is 'Grey's Anatomy'. WOW! Looks like Shonda Rhimes still has some things up her sleeve. To quote from Godfather, Just when I thought I was out, they pull me back in! That two-part season finale literally just revived my love for a show that I've found increasingly boring and uninspiring this season, with too much flip flop of characters and too many new faces trying to over-compensate for the strong absence felt when Katherine Heigl made the worst exit on a show since Judy Winslow from Family Matters walked up the stairs to change her clothes and never came back down.

Anyway, Grey's was amazing, as I said, filled with such suspense, terror, and shocking surprises. Basically it felt like no character was safe and any of them could have lived or died. Got to hand it to the writing - now if only it had been like this all season...

On another note, with the season of season finales comes the season of cancellations.
The only one that stands out for me is CBS' 'Accidentally On Purpose', a funny half-hour comedy with the hilarious Jenna Elfman and the cutest guy on TV, Jon Foster playing her baby daddy. Him alone was enough to keep me tuning in each week, and, although it wasn't exactly the most original story (20-something guy gets 30-something woman pregnant after a one-night stand and they try to make it work), the supporting characters of her cooky sister and awkward brother-in-law, and her boyfriend's under-achieving friends, made for some great comedy.

Also, I just heard that next season will be the last for Steve Carell aka Michael Scott on 'The Office'. Oh the horror, how will I live without it if there's no more 'That's what she said' and unintentional racial and sexist slurs from everyone's favourite regional manager. Wonder if the show will go on without Steve, and if so, I strongly nominate Dwight K. Schrute to take over as the boss. Would make for some fantastic comedy.

Anyway, with the end of network TV seasons, comes the highly anticipated new seasons of 'True Blood' and 'Entourage' on the fabulous HBO. Also, new episodes of 'Nurse Jackie', 'The United States of Tara' are still airing, which means there's still stay-at-home fun to be had this summer.

TRUE BLOOD Teaser Campaign! .. "Good to the last drop"

With about 6 weeks left till season 3 premieres, HBO's airing new 15-20 second teaser clips each Sunday night. Also, check out the teaser poster making its rounds online!

Sex, Violence, Vampires, TRUE BLOOD

Not since the mid 90s (Interview with the Vampire, and of course the teeny-bopper classic Buffy the Vampire Slayer) have we seen such a Vampire craze like today. At a time where the Twilight phenomenon has taken over everything, True Blood has come along with a fresh take on the mythical creatures that have fascinated us for centuries. People are already obsessed with the dreamy Edward and Jacob, but what True Blood does, is tell a different story, without the hidden message of preaching abstinence. True Blood offers a welcome alternative, a lust-filled and seductive take on the fabled Vampire.

Taking a very interesting view, Charlaine Harris’ story deals with a supernatural world colliding with the ‘real’ one we live in, in an alternate universe where the Vampires have literally ‘come out of the coffin’ and made an attempt at integration and assimilation into society. True Blood takes a magical idea, and makes it socially relevant. The invention of synthetic blood has allowed the Vampires to be admitted into society. And them fighting for basic ‘human’ rights like voting and marriage, is a lot like when Women and African Americans were given, or more like fought for, equal rights.

I think that’s why people are so fascinated by True Blood. It depicts a type of prejudice and racism that we are familiar with, but the beings receiving the treatment are fictitious. Even looking at the ‘Fellowship of the Sun’, the Vamp and Fang-banger-hating cult or-church, as they call themselves, is very similar to the time when there was major discrimination against anyone different: coloured, homosexual, or otherwise. And so, the show is much more than popular culture fluff. It’s real, gritty, and deals with social acceptance and tolerance.

And, it does so in a stylized way that is still well-acted, well-made and enjoyable to watch, conveying the age-old message that differences among people are not bad, but make the world more interesting, and as True Blood shows us, a more eventful place.

True Blood Season 3 premiering June 13th

Sharpen your fangs and get ready for the highly anticipated return of HBO's True Blood, with season 3 premiering June 13th! So very excited, with the 3rd season promising a whole new set of characters and story lines and of course, more intrigue, new supernaturals, (including, Yes- you Jacob lovers, a werewolf!), and of course, more blood. And, as someone who's read most of the book series, I can tell you, the best is yet to come.

Here's hoping to more from the Sookie/Bill/Eric love triangle. With Eric's intoxicating blood in Sookie, and with him showing a softer, more passionate side in his love for his Maker, this season is sure to test Sookie's devotion to Bill and create some sexy drama for us to see play out.

Also interested in watching the Hoyt/Jessica storyline progress, seeing if they can get through her attack on Hoyt's Mom, and Jessica's growing Vampire urges to feed!

For all you fans out there, there are at least 9 books in the series so far, so if they can keep up the hype and quality of the show, we can look forward to much more True Blood.