A True Blood musical is coming, and it could be awesome

HBO’s hit series True Blood is in the early stages of development as a musical, and it could be awesome.

True Blood is becoming a musical, and unlike other vampire shows on Broadway, it might have a fighting chance at success.

The New York Post reports that Nathan Barr will compose the music while book and lyrics will be written by Elizabeth Scott. Barr has tremendous experience with True Blood, as he composed music for the series as well. Showrunner Alan Ball is also said to be involved in some way. There are reports that a table read has already taken place, but the only details that exist confirm that the musical takes place in Bon Temps, Louisiana, and the overall feeling of the show has been described as “fun.”

While vampire musicals, like Anne Rice’s Lestat, have never fared well on Broadway, there’s a good chance that True Blood will have success, and it’s even possible that some of the series’ cast might show up for the musical. After all, Stephen Moyer, who played Vampire Bill in the series, has a background in music. He starred in the NBC live action production of The Sound of Music in 2014; though the show had a rough time among critics, Moyer’s performance received praise. Imagine how much fun it would be to have some of the cast reunite for the musical.

There’s also the playful tone of the series itself, which could really translate to a musical. True Blood was a show where anything was possible. It had everything—hot guys, hotter sex scenes, drama, scathing political satire, and an overall “anything can happen” vibe. Imagine how that can translate into a solid storyline for a musical, and how great and varied the music could be as a result. And if the creators stick to more of a Buffy the Vampire Slayer, “One More Time with Feeling” script, then it’s even more plausible that a True Blood musical will find an enthusiastic fan base on Broadway.

True Blood ran on HBO for seven seasons, ending its run in 2014. The series had long departed from its original source material; while Game of Thrones deviates from A Song of Ice and Fire as a matter of practicality (as the series isn’t finished), True Blood had plenty of source material to choose from given author Charlaine Harris’s vast collection of Sookie Stackhouse novels. However, as certain characters caught on in popularity (take the wonderfully flamboyant Lafayette, who died in the first book but lived on throughout the series), the possibility of following the books was more difficult.

Bottom line, if the creators do it right, then a True Blood musical can be a really awesome thing and a great way to resurrect a fun show without resorting to a reboot.

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