More Sookie 411

From Entertainment Weekly [Emphasis added by me]

Jan. 6, 2009

Question: We all know that Lafayette was the best character in Season One of True Blood. How can we make sure Alan Ball brings him back next season? -- Brody
Ausiello: Well, as Ball himself recently reminded me, "Lafayette did die in the books." But, he adds, "That doesn't mean he won't be back. Anything's possible." [OOOOO, Lafayette as a vamp maybe?!]

Question: What's the deal with Michelle Forbes' character on True Blood? Is she Tara's Demon? How does Sam know her? -- Marcy
Ausiello: The mystery surrounding who (or what) Maryann is will play out front and center in season 2 -- and you may not find many clues in the books. "She's definitely a new kind of supernatural creature in Bon Temps," teases Ball. And as new as "it" is, it's also old. "Ancient. Ancient," Ball stresses. In other words, not a Cylon. BTW, production on True Blood's second season begins this week! [See below for more on Maryann]

Jan 9, 2009

In 2009, Werewolves Answer Hollywood's Call of the Wild
The furry beasts are popping up everywhere, including the upcoming Underworld: Rise of the Lycans, New Moon, and more

Buzz up!More
By Tanner Stransky
Take a gander at the big screen this year because you're likely to spy a full moon — and we aren't talking about Will Ferrell's bare butt. If 2008 marked a comeback for the vampire, the next 12 months belong to the werewolf. On Jan. 23, Underworld: Rise of the Lycans showcases the woolly beasts, while a furrier-than-usual Hugh Jackman returns in X-Men Origins: Wolverine (May 1). Later this year, Benicio Del Toro stars in The Wolfman (Nov. 6), and in the Nov. 20 Twilight sequel New Moon, heroine Bella moons over werewolf Jacob. TV loves a lupine too: Fox just ordered the ludicrously titled dramedy pilot Bitches — about a quartet of female werewolf friends in New York City [not sure about that one- works for Shelly Laurenston though]. — and it's rumored that season 2 of HBO's True Blood will get hairy. So what's with the comeback? ''The last time this happened was World War II,'' notes Brad Steiger, author of The Werewolf Book. ''It's reflective. We want to worry about something that can get us besides bailouts. I'm eager to see [these projects]. Benicio, God bless him, looks like a werewolf without the makeup.'' [HAHA! That's the exact thought I had]

Jan 14, 2009

Question: Thanks for telling us that True Blood started shooting its second season last week, but could you tell me when the episodes will start airing? -- Katie
Ausiello: This summer, which means season 2 will air roughly eight months after the conclusion of season 1 -- a lightning fast turnaround by cable standards. "Alan Ball is a very fast writer," explains an HBO source. In other True Blood news, I caught up with Sam Trammell (Sam) at the Globes and he teased that his new love interest ([Daphne] played by The Bold and The Beautiful's Ashley Jones- Dec 16, 2008) is up to no good. "I don't know the whole storyline, but I've read the first three episodes, and it's going to be really twisted and dark and exciting. She's got some serious secrets and questionable intentions

January 16, 2009

Buzz up!More
By Michael Ausiello

Killer True Blood spoilers!
Season 2 of HBO's fangtastic True Blood doesn't bow until summer, but I've already got intel from series creator Alan Ball. Fancy a bite?

Three's Company: Sookie (Anna Paquin) and Bill (Stephen Moyer) will wing it to Dallas, where they'll assist the local bloodsuckers in locating their MIA sheriff. But the couple's bigger problem may be their new third wheel, the irritating Jessica (Deborah Ann Woll). ''She's part of their life now,'' says Ball. ''Bill made her; he's responsible for her.'' [By the time they got to Dallas in the books, Sookie and Eric's teasing relationship had begun and was in full bloom by the end of that book. I hope they develop Eric's character further than they did last season.]

Diff'rent Strokes: The question of who — or what — Maryann (Michelle Forbes) is will play out, and the answer doesn't lie in Charlaine Harris' books. ''She's a new kind of supernatural creature.'' [Hmmm... so not what we all assumed. But in the books, the direct result of her (or what we thought was her) attack on Sookie is the growing friendship between Sookie and Eric and Pam.]

Dead Like Me: ''I can't tell you if Lafayette [played by Nelsan Ellis] will be back,'' says Ball, adding ominously, ''He did die in the books.'' He will reveal that Lois Smith's Gran returns in flashbacks.

Highway to Heaven: Sookie's sex-obsessed bro, Jason (Ryan Kwanten), will get mixed up with the nefarious Fellowship of the Sun. ''He realizes something's missing in his life,'' says Ball. Aside from his pants? [My guess is that Jason and "series-regular role of Sarah, the hot-to-trot wife of Steve Newlin (aka the Fellowship of the Sun's big kahuna- Dec 16, 2008)" will be spending some "quality" time together.]

Interesting. It sounds like Ball will be switching things up so that, while the basic premise of the books is there, no one can quite be sure where he'll veer off on his own with the characters and/or storylines. Familiar yet unfamiliar at the same time.