True Blood Season 5 Guide

Season 5 of HBO's True Blood won't hit our screens until Summer 2012, but the Internet has been rife with rumors about what's going to happen to Sookie and the good folks of Bon Temps, Louisiana.

Filming for Season 5 began in November 2011, with several additions to the already-strong cast. Fans were thrilled to find out earlier this year that the very sexy Scott Foley (of Felicity and The Unit fame) would be joining the cast to play Patrick Devins.

News that Christopher Meloni (best known for his long-running turn as Detective Elliot Stabler on Law and Order: Special Victims Unit) was joining the cast as “an ancient, powerful vampire who holds the fate of Bill and Eric in his hands” also set the Internet on fire. It's not clear who the "ancient, powerful vampire" is, but there has been speculation that he'll be playing the mysterious Authority.

The screenwriters have been understandably coy about what's going to happen in Season 5. Screenwriter Alexander Woo teased fans with this long but uninformative statement: “Some of the things that people loved in the first four seasons of True Blood, you’ll be getting more of. And there will also be some surprises that will hopefully delight everyone. We have a sense of what the fans have already enjoyed in the previous seasons, and we’re doing our best to give our fans more of that but also leave some room for novelty and surprise.”

In the absence of more information from the close-mouthed True Blood cast and crew, we're just going to have to be content with a quick look at some of the new cast members for now... and with the first first official True Blood Season 5 trailer!!

Truebies will remember that the chillingly evil King of Mississippi, Russell Edgington, was burned by the sun, wrapped in silver chains, and buried alive in cement by Eric and Bill. Russell’s last words to Eric were, “You will regret this Eric, I will be back!” For those of us who thought that wasn't the end of the deranged 3000-year-old vampire... well now's the time to say, "I told you so!".

For those who already started speculating during the Season 4 finale, when Eric and Bill find Russell’s empty cement grave, and realize that he’s escaped, we now have confirmation that Russell’s back!!

Denis O’Hare, who plays Russell, confirmed in an interview last year that the King of Mississippi would be appearing in Season 5, but added that True Blood creator Alan Ball had “devised an amazing trick to allow me to be present, but not fully acting.” it's not clear what form the return will take, but the first official True Blood Season 5 trailer, which was released just last week, definitely seems to confirm a return of the King!

The video clip features some Blair Witch-like footage of the woods and says, “In Bon Temps, nothing stays buried forever”. Of course, apart from Russell Edgington, a number of other bodies are floating around Bon Temps, so for all we know, there'll be many other unexpected surprises... but that's par for the course for this hit series, which keeps its fans enthralled with unexpected plot twists and wonderful character development.

True Blood Season 5 fans who've been hanging on for more information after the cryptic "Buried" tease will be delighted by the embarrassment of riches that HBO has recently bestowed on us. They've given us not one, not two, but four (count 'em) teasers for the upcoming season.

The trailers bring us to all our favorite True Blood locations - Eric's bar in Shreveport (the campy Fangtasia), Sookie's house, Eric's home, and finally Merlotte's. We don't get to see any of the characters, but we do get to hear snatches of dialogue that were spoken at the locations. Check out the trailers and try to identify who said what, when!

One of the best things about True Blood is the extraordinarily attractive cast, and the addition of Scott Foley to the Bon Temps fold will make the cast that much hotter! In fact, Foley has already made an appearance in Bon Temps, appearing in the Season 4 finale as Terry’s old Army buddy, Patrick Devins. Series creator Alan Ball reveals that Patrick Devins was Terry’s platoon leader in Iraq, and that the character will be trotted out regularly over the next season as part of a major plot line involving Terry and Patrick, although he doesn’t reveal what the story arc might be.

In a new trailer which came out on April 15, it looks like Terry and Patrick have been cornered at a small cabin by someone named Eller wielding a shotgun, who repeatedly asks if "anything" followed them to the cabin. Sounds like the two war vets are in for an interesting time in Season 5. True Blood writer Alexander Woo won't reveal whether Patrick's a hero or a bad guy, but it does sound like his being in town is going to shake things up for Terry.

Foley seems pleased to be joining the True Blood team, and said that he’s “thrilled to be joining True Blood and looking forward to meeting everyone.” Foley’s put in a lot of effort to get up to speed on all the complicated things that have been going on in the True Blood universe, and confessed last July that he was watching all the previous seasons of the show to catch up.

True Blood fans are no doubt looking forward to seeing more of Foley in Season 5. But elsewhere, Grey’s Anatomy fans are mourning Foley’s departure. Foley has played Teddy’s husband Henry in the long-running medical drama since 2010. In a dramatic and emotional episode aired in November, Henry died on the operating table – at the hands of Cristina, Teddy’s protégé. Well, all’s fair in television land, and Seattle Grace’s loss is Bon Temps’ gain.

Foley, 39, has had roles in a number of TV series. The dark-haired 6’ 1” actor is originally from Kansas City, and got his big break in Felicity, in which he played Noel Crane between 1998 to 2002. Indeed, Felicity brought him more than fame. It also brought him his first wife, Jennifer Garner, who he met when she guest-starred on the series. The two married in 2000, and split in 2003.

Aside from Grey’s Anatomy, Foley has also appeared regularly in Scrubs, Dawson’s Creek, and Cougar Town. He has also guest starred in House M.D. and Meloni’s old show, Law and Order: Special Victims Unit. However, Foley is perhaps best known for his star turn as Sergeant First Class Bob Brown from 2006 to 2009 in The Unit, a compelling military series about Special Forces operators and their families.

Foley married actress Marika Dominczyk in 2007, and they are the parents of a two-year old girl named Marley.

True Blood scored a casting coup when they snagged Christopher Meloni for a “major” role in Season 5 of the series! Even before the official announcement, rumor had it that Bon Temps was going to get a little bit of “law and order”. The news set the Internet buzzing and just to show that sometimes what you read online can be true, Meloni’s involvement was confirmed several weeks later.

Producers are however keeping mum about Meloni’s role in the series. Series creator Alan Ball has simply said that Meloni will play “an ancient, powerful vampire who holds the fate of Bill and Eric in his hands”, but has not given further details. The speculation is that Meloni will play the mysterious Authority, or will be a scarier, more threatening Nan Flanagan. Nan, as you recall, met an ignominious end at Bill and Eric’s hands in Season 4. Whatever the case, Meloni’s character is bound to sink his fangs into some “special victims”!

Fifty-year-old Meloni played Detective Elliot Stabler on Law and Order: Special Victims Unit (SVU) from 1999 to 2011, garnering numerous Emmy nominations for his strong performances. He left the series abruptly in the middle of last year after twelve seasons. He’s been tight-lipped about the reason for his departure, saying only that he was leaving to pursue some new projects.

Meloni has a degree in history from the University of Colorado at Boulder, and studied acting at the Neighbourhood Playhouse in New York. The ruggedly-attractive Meloni was featured in People magazine’s Sexiest Man Alive edition in 2006, and is known for his piercing gaze and a brawny “tough-guy” image. He probably comes by that image honestly, having worked as a construction worker, bouncer, and personal trainer, before he got his big break. Meloni has played characters on both sides of the law. Apart from his turn on SVU, Stabler played arms dealer Jimmy Liery on NYPD Blue in the mid-1990s, and kept viewers riveted with his compelling performance as the sexually-magnetic bisexual sociopath Chris Keller in the HBO prison drama Oz from 1998 to 2003.

Meloni’s been keeping himself very busy since leaving SVU. Apart from his role in True Blood, he’s also playing Colonel Hardy in the upcoming Superman movie, Man of Steel.

Meloni lives in New York with his wife of sixteen years, and they are the proud parents of a 10-year-old daughter and an 8-year-old son.