TRUE BLOOD’s Alan Ball Talks Sex and Nudity

True Blood’s executive producer Alan Ball took some time out to discuss what season 2 holds in store, his emotional connection with True Blood, the writing process and more. Based on The Sookie Stackhouse series by Charlaine Harris, True Blood, which ended its first season with a large cult following and dedicated fan base, chronicles the life of telepathic bar maid Sookie Stackhouse, the love of her life, Vampire Bill, as well as a ton of other colorful characters. The cast, including Anna Paquin, Stephen Moyer, Ryan Kwanten, Alexander Skarsgård, Deborah Ann Woll and Rutina Wesley, along with Alan Ball and Charlaine Harris will be appearing at this year’s Comic-Con in a panel discussion, but for more immediate insight on the show, read on.

Q: How do you come up with the story for each episode?

A: It’s a 50/50 combo, using material from book, and using our own material. We stick pretty closely to Sookie’s story, a lot of the story line is original. There are some changes here and there to help streamline the story, however we do try that it remains true to the spirit of the book and spread it out over 12 episodes. I work with four really great writers – Brian Buckner, Nancy Oliver, Raelle Tucker and Alexander Woo, they are as much a part of the story telling of the show as I am.

Q: Have you read all the books and how close do you plan to follow them?

A: I have not read the newest book, that has just released because I haven’t had time, I fell in love with these books, and I thought this is a great tale one of the reasons they are so successful is that they work – you’re walking a fine line, you want to be as faithful to the book as possible, but then there will be no surprises for the audience, I definitely stay faithful to source material because it’s really good and it works.

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