Alan Ball has chosen to relinquish his showrunner duties on HBO’s vampire drama True Blood to spend more time working on new projects at the pay cable channel and its counterpart, Cinemax.
Forbes started the Alan Ball discussion this past weekend with a report suggesting the only showrunner the series has ever known was stepping down from his day-to-day role of steering the ship. The reason cited for Ball’s departure was a combination of fatigue and a desire to work on new projects.
HBO and Alan Ball today issued statements confirming the Forbes report. HBO claims that Ball’s previous deal in 2011 was struck with the understanding that Season 6 would see him step back from day-to-day activities and into a “supervisory role.” Alan will remain as executive producer and consultant for the show, while the existing team of producers and writers will seemingly share showrunner duties.
In Ball’s statement, he boasts how fantastic the True Blood team is and for that reason he is able to take a step back and know the series is in capable hands. He expresses excitement to work on “new and exciting ventures” for both HBO and Cinemax, the first being Banshee for Cinemax. Ball is also reportedly working on an abortion doctor medical drama for HBO.
True Blood: Season 5 is expected to follow the pattern of previous seasons and premiere sometime in mid-to-late June. It will be the final season in which Alan Ball is the showrunner.
