Vamp TV

Wed, Nov 23, 2005

I missed this news when it first came out, but better late than never! Charlaine Harris, author of the delightful Sookie Stackhouse Vampire Mysteries, has a bit on her site talking about a TV pilot for a possible new show based on her Southern-set tales, being made by Six Feet Under creator Alan Ball:

“HBO has dug up a new deal with “Six Feet Under” creator Alan Ball, but this time he’s switching from the dead to the undead.

The first project covered under the two-year development deal Ball signed with the premium cable channel will be based on the “Southern Vampire” book series.

Written by Charlaine Harris, the series chronicles the intermingling world of humans and monsters in contemporary rural Louisiana, particularly vampires, thanks to a synthetic blood formula that allows them to roam far from their coffins.

“The books are funny, scary, sexy, romantic, bizarre and really fun,” Ball said. “I couldn’t put them down. I will try to remain as true to the spirit of her book as possible.”

HBO has ordered an hour-long pilot to be written and directed by Ball. There is no set timetable for shooting the “Southern” pilot, but Ball believed it would happen sometime next year.

Ball, who also won an Oscar for writing “American Beauty,” last created “Six Feet Under,” which revolved around a family mortuary business. The Emmy-winning series ended in August.”

I very much enjoyed this series of novels which managed to combine vampires and other supernatural creatures with a very down-to-earth, everyday attitude (I especially loved the way the local historical society asks the new vampire in town – Bill – over to give them a talk on what the Civil War was really like and special hotels and airlines springing up to cater for the new vampiric clients) and in the hands of Ball it could make for some deliciously offbeat fantasy television.