True Blood cast a spell on the crowd at PaleyFest 2011 this past weekend. Showrunner Alan Ball and sixteen cast members, including Anna Paquin, Stephen Moyer, and Alexander Skarsgard, gathered at the Saban Theatre for a panel discussion on what’s to come in season four of the hit HBO show. Here are the juicy highlights from panel:
- Bye-bye Sookie and Bill: Sookie comes back different from her trip with Claudine. Bill’s betrayal of Sookie is so deep that she can’t forgive him right now. Alan Ball talks about Sookie and Bill:
“The betrayal is so deep that I don’t think she sees a way back from that. That’s why we need 17 seasons!”
- A New Eric: As fans of the Sookie novels already know, Eric will lose his memory. Alexander Skarsgard explains what his character goes through:
“He doesn’t know who he is, so a thousand years of resentment for humanity is gone,” Skarsgard explained. “He’s very innocent … Eric needs help. There are a lot of friendly people in Bon Temps who would love to help Eric.”
“What we’re doing now is so different. This powerful character is just gone; what we’ve built up over the last three years is just gone, and it’s a lot of fun doing this because it’s just the polar opposite of who Eric really is. This is just a blast, because he is lost and he discovers a lot; he doesn’t know who he is — he knows he’s a vampire, but then slowly finds out stuff, like ‘oh, I killed those people?’ It’s not easy to hear. And not knowing who he can trust or who’s a friend or an enemy … he’s very vulnerable.”
- A New Old Evil: The new big bad of season four will not actually be the introduction of witches, but “another, older entity,” according to Alan Ball.
- Rosemary’s Baby: Carrie Preston’s character Arlene is indeed worried about the soul of her unborn child that was fathered by serial killer Rene Lenier (Michael Raymond-James). Preston talks about what’s going through Arlene’s mind:
“In Arlene’s mind, there’s good and there’s evil — and if you are a serial killer, you are evil!”
- Returning Characters: Alcide’s crazy ex, Debbie Pelt (Brit Morgan) may be back this season as well as vampire king Russell Edgington (Denis O’Hare). Ball teases:
“I don’t know when he’ll be back, but there are definitely plans to bring him back. And he is gonna be pissed!”
Ball also confirmed that Eric maker, Godric (Allan Hyde) will return in a possible flashback or dream.
Check out these vids from PaleyFest and promos from HBO:
True Blood: PaleyFest Panel Highlights
True Blood: Paley Fest 2011 Interviews
True Blood: Season Four Promo
True Blood: Waiting Sucks – “Eric”
True Blood Comic Book Signing, Taste of Season Four
The following cast members were in attendance at PaleyFest 2011:
Kevin Alejandro, “Jesus Velasquez”
Marshall Allman, “Tommy Mickens”
Alan Ball, Creator / Executive Producer
Chris Bauer, “Andy Bellefleur“
Kristin Bauer van Straten, “Pam De Beaufort“
Nelsan Ellis, “Lafayette Reynolds”
Ryan Kwanten, “Jason Stackhouse”
Todd Lowe, “Terry Bellefleur”
Joe Manganiello, “Alcide Herveaux”
Stephen Moyer, “Bill Compton”
Anna Paquin, “Sookie Stackhouse”
Jim Parrack, “Hoyt Fortenberry”
Carrie Preston, “Arlene Fowler”
Alexander Skarsgard, “Eric Northman”
Sam Trammell, “Sam Merlotte”
Rutina Wesley, “Tara Thornton”
Deborah Ann Woll, “Jessica Hamby”
