HIT HBO SERIES "TRUE BLOOD" TO END RUN IN 2014

LOS ANGELES, Sept. 3, 2013 - The hit show TRUE BLOOD will end its run in 2014, it was announced today by Michael Lombardo, president, HBO Programming. Consisting of ten episodes, the previously announced seventh season will launch next summer.

"TRUE BLOOD has been nothing short of a defining show for HBO," noted Lombardo. "Alan Ball took the books by Charlaine Harris, assembled a brilliant cast led by the magnificent Anna Paquin in the role of Sookie Stackhouse, and crafted a show that has taken its many devoted fans on an unforgettable journey. Alan passed the baton to Brian Buckner, who led our fantastic writers and crew in crafting a spectacular sixth season, and he will lead us through the seventh and final season of this amazing show. 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."

"From the moment I read Charlaine's books, I thought there was potential for something really special," says Alan Ball. "Then our amazing writers, cast and crew brought her world to life in a way that exceeded my wildest expectations. I'm deeply grateful to HBO for being true partners and collaborators, and, of course, to the viewers who chose to spend Sunday nights in Bon Temps with us."

"I feel enormously proud to have been a part of the TRUE BLOOD family since the very beginning," says Brian Buckner. "I guarantee that there's not a more talented or harder-working cast and crew out there, and I'd like to extend a personal heartfelt thanks to them for their dedication and tenacity over the years, especially this past year, as I stepped into a larger role. Thank you also to HBO for their unwavering support and of course to Alan Ball, whose genius enabled all of us to share in this incredible journey. Finally, a huge thank you to the most passionate fans in television. 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."

Mixing romance, suspense, mystery and humor, TRUE BLOOD takes place in a world where vampires and humans co-exist, after vampires have come out of the coffin, thanks to the invention of mass-produced synthetic blood that means they no longer need humans as a nutritional source. The series follows waitress and part-faerie Sookie Stackhouse (Anna Paquin), who can hear people's thoughts, vampire Bill Compton (Stephen Moyer) and vampire Eric Northman (Alexander Skarsgard). Alan Ball (creator of the Emmy(R)-winning HBO series "Six Feet Under") created the show, which is based on the bestselling Sookie Stackhouse novels by Charlaine Harris.

The sixth season of TRUE BLOOD, which concluded last month, inspired critical raves, with the Boston Herald praising the show for "suspense, surprises and crackling dialogue," while US Weekly noted that the show's "cheeky humor and vivid imagination are still there to relish," and the New York Post called it "bloody hilarious." With an average gross audience of 10.6 million viewers per episode, the show remains one of HBO's most popular series.

For more on the series, visit facebook.com/trueblood and twitter.com/TrueBloodHBO #trueblood

Season six credits: TRUE BLOOD was created by Alan Ball; based on the Sookie Stackhouse novels by Charlaine Harris; executive producers, Alan Ball, Brian Buckner, Gregg Fienberg and Alexander Woo; co-executive producer, Angela Robinson; supervising producer, Robin Veith; co-producers, Kate Barnow and Christina Jokanovich.