Required viewing: TV’s sexiest vampire drama, True Blood

After premiering to widespread acclaim in 2008, HBO’s True Blood went on to last seven seasons. Here’s why it should be your next quarantine binge.

Imagine a world where vampires, werewolves, shapeshifters, and fairies walk among us. True Blood offers a peek into an alternate universe, where the creatures we thought only existed in folklore or urban legends are actually real.

Set against the swamps of Louisiana, True Blood follows Sookie Stackhouse, a young waitress at Bon Temps’ local dive bar Merlotte’s. Sookie also has a not-very-well-kept secret, she can read minds. Even though most people generally just ignore her special ability, Sookie has adapted well to a solo life as a societal outcast.

While usually keeping to herself and a few close friends/relatives, Sookie’s life turns upside down when, one night, a tall dark and handsome vampire named Bill Compton takes a seat at a table in her section. What follows is a tale of love, desire, the supernatural, prejudice, and blood, lots and lots of blood.

What True Blood gets right from the first episode is banking on the palpable romantic chemistry between the show’s two leads: Anna Paquin and Stephen Moyer. Like all famed star-crossed lovers before them, Paquin’s Sookie and Moyer’s Bill are the kind of couple you can’t help but ship, even if their relationship is doomed from the get-go.

Along those same lines, True Blood makes the most of its premium cable home at HBO by showing off the sex appeal of its cast. Most everyone is young, attractive, and yearning to free themselves from their clothes for the duration of the series, but not to the point that you forget about the plot, because that’s a major drawing point too.

True Blood lets you escape to world where anything could happen, which is especially appealing in this day and age. Letting yourself escape your home virtually into a fantastical world, even if only for an hour-long episode, can help remind you that there is so much out there left to discover. True Blood has been a big help to me, personally, while I self-isolate in my apartment waiting for normalcy to return.

In case you’re interested in the long-run, there is plenty of True Blood to watch, 80 episodes to be exact. Every season follows neatly contained plot lines, featuring ever-developing, complex mythologies. Twists and turns are behind every corner, and it’s nearly impossible to predict what comes next.

Ready to start your next binge? Let us know what you think of the show in the comments below or join the thread on Twitter @HiddenRemote!

True Blood is now streaming on HBO GO, HBO NOW, and Amazon Prime.