Fans were surprised when news broke on Wednesday that a True Blood reboot is in the works at HBO. While some think a reboot of the beloved series is unnecessary, others are down for a new reimagining of the vampire drama. And since Anna Paquin was the lead star of the original, people have started to wonder if the actress will return for the reboot. Though it’s too early to tell whether Paquin will pop up in the new series, the actress’ initial reaction to the news revealed that she’s currently not involved in the project.
“Well, this is the first I’m hearing about this,” Paquin quote-tweeted an article about the True Blood reboot. When a fan replied “you can tell she mad, go off queen,” the actress quickly responded that she’s “not mad” and was “just answering the question that has inundated” her feed.
Well, this is the first I'm hearing about this. https://t.co/aiNIKfnuyR
— Anna Paquin (@AnnaPaquin) December 9, 2020
Not mad, just answering the question that has inundated my feed. xo https://t.co/nCfMWerB1D
— Anna Paquin (@AnnaPaquin) December 9, 2020
Set two years after the invention of a synthetic blood product that allowed vampires to let their presence be known to mankind, the original True Blood series starred Paquin as Sookie Stackhouse, a telepathic waitress living in the fictional rural town of Bon Temps, Louisiana, whose life was turned upside down when she fell in love with 173-year-old vampire Bill Compton (Stephen Moyer).
True Blood, which ran for seven seasons on HBO from 2008 to 2014, was based on Charlaine Harris’ novel series The Southern Vampire Mysteries. And Harris herself didn’t seem to know anything about the True Blood reboot until various media outlets broke the news earlier this week. “To my amazement, Variety has announced that a reboot of ‘True Blood’ is in early stages of development at HBO. That’s absolutely all I know,” the novelist wrote in a tweet.
To my amazement, Variety has announced that a reboot of "True Blood" is in early stages of development at HBO. That's absolutely all I know.
— Charlaine Harris (@RealCharlaine) December 10, 2020
The True Blood reboot is being spearheaded by Riverdale and Chilling Adventures of Sabrina creator Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa. Aguirre-Sacasa is expected to co-write the pilot with NOS4A2 creator Jami O’Brien. Both Aguirre-Sacasa and O’Brien are also executive producing the reboot with Alan Ball, who created the original True Blood series and served as the showrunner for its first five seasons.
Peaking at nearly 5 million same-day viewers per episode during its third and fourth seasons, True Blood was a monster hit for HBO. In fact, at some point during its run, the show became the network’s most-watched series since The Sopranos.
Aside from Paquin and Moyer, True Blood also starred Sam Trammell, Ryan Kwanten, Rutina Wesley, Chris Bauer, Jim Parrack, Carrie Preston, Alexander Skarsgård, Todd Lowe, Deborah Ann Woll, Kristin Bauer van Straten, Joe Manganiello, and the late Nelsan Ellis, who passed away in 2017 due to heart failure.
True Blood is the latest high-profile Warner Bros. IP that Aguirre-Sacasa has been tasked with rebooting. HBO Max announced in September that the writer-producer is also at the helm of the new “horror-tinged, coming-of-rage” version of Pretty Little Liars.