David Baldwin from metro.co.uk looks at Alan Ball’s hit HBO TV vampire series True Blood as it is set to take on the UK. Mr. Baldwin states, the vampire genre is not for everyone, however True Blood is not just about vampires and will prove to UK audiences that it is so much more.

Stephen Moyer tries to explains how True Blood can appeal to a vast group of people, not only to vampire fans.

“Lots of people ask me who it’s aimed at,’ admits Moyer, ‘and the way I explain it is: imagine you’ve got a Venn diagram where one circle is vampire lovers, another is Alan Ball fans and then you have one circle which is just people who like really good drama. They all cross over in the middle and that’s where it becomes something other than just a fantasy show.”

“You wouldn’t think that a vampire show could cross over but people who don’t like the vampire genre – and, believe me, it’s not my go-to genre either – really see something different in True Blood because it’s well-written, it’s funny and it’s also quite odd.”

The complexity of True Blood has hit a cord with people from many different walks of life and as a result has become HBO’s leading show in its programming schedule.  Another reason for the show’s success is the remarkable acting talent and brooding charisma of Stephen Moyer, who had a lot of competition to contend with in order to secure the role.

‘“When I went to casting in London it was like an annual general meeting for British Equity; everyone went up for this role,’ he says. ‘But Alan saw my audition later that day and I flew over to meet him and Anna the next morning. The three of us all clicked very quickly and the next day I got the job.”

Mr. Baldwin examines the sexuality in the show and the various metaphors that they pertain to in society.  Whether it is people hooked on “V” as a new and improved version of Viagra to people’s apprehension to the accept a group of people different from themselves.

“I think what’s interesting about it is that it’s not just a gay subtext,’ says Moyer. ‘You can apply it to any minority and that’s why it works. If you asked Alan Ball if the gay thing was what he was going for, he would categorically deny it. What I love is that my character is immediately ostracised when he arrives in this little town because he’s different. Any minority or disenfranchised group can bring their metaphor to the table at that point.”

Interest in the relationship between Britain’s own Stephen Moyer and Anna Paquin have been on many people’s  lips in recently months and as Stephen explains:

“We’ve actually been together for two years now and our crew have watched us grow as a couple.” “They didn’t really know we were together while we were filming the first series.” “It’s still a bit weird when we’re doing sex scenes although when we get home and we’re in our own bed, we… kind of miss the crew a little bit.”

UK get ready to be bitten. True Blood begins on Friday, July 24, 2009 at 10PM on the FX Channel.

SOURCE:  metro.co.uk
(Photo credit:  HBO Inc.)