‘True Blood’ Star Anna Paquin Responds to Reboot News

When news broke earlier this week that HBO was in the early development stages of a True Blood reboot, fans right away began asking if any of the original cast members of the steamy vampire drama would be involved. While HBO has not addressed reports by TVLine about the reboot, Anna Paquin and a number of other key players in the original series made it clear that they haven’t been involved in the Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa-led reboot, at least at this stage.

Paquin, who played protagonist Sookie Stackhouse in the original series, inspired by the Southern Vampire Mysteries books by author Charlaine Harris, was one of the first to address the reboot news publicly. “Well, this is the first I’m hearing about this,” the actress tweeted. When a fan retweeted her initial statement with the addendum, “You can tell she mad, go off queen,” Paquin then clarified to fans she’s “not mad” about the news, “just answering the question that has inundated” her Twitter replies. Denis O’Hare, who played vampire Russell Edgington, revealed that he was also out of the loop, replying to Paquin’s first tweet that he also hadn’t heard anything before the initial reports.

The project is in the early stages of development, having reportedly signed Riverdale‘s Aguirre-Sacasa as an executive producer alongside the original show’s creator, Alan Ball, and Jami O’Brien, who served as the creator of AMC’s Joe Hill adaptation NOS4A2. Surprisingly enough, however, Harris herself tweeted that she was also unaware of any reboot based on her work. Deborah Ann Woll, who played Jessica on True Blood, retweeted Harris’s statement.

The original True Blood was a hit for HBO, running for seven seasons and 80 episodes before wrapping in August 2014, and became the network’s most-watched show during its time on the air since The Sopranos. Additional actors who starred in the show and have since moved on to other projects include Stephen Moyer, Alexander Skarsgard, Sam Trammell, Ryan Kwanten, Rutina Wesley, Kristin Bauer van Straten, Lauren Bowles, Carrie Preston, Chris Bauer, Joe Manganiello and the late Nelsan Ellis. The first five seasons were critically beloved and led to nominations and wins for several awards, including a Golden Globe and an Emmy.