Alan Ball is returning to HBO's primetime lineup as the pay cable network has picked up his drama pilot True Blood to series.

HBO has picked up the drama pilot True Blood, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The exact episode order and the premiere date for the vampire drama starring Anna Paquin has yet to be determined. Production on the show's first season is slated to begin in the fall.

Based on the "Southern Vampire" book series by Charlaine Harris, True Blood takes place in a world in which vampires can buy Japanese-made synthetic blood. Their integration into a small Louisiana town causes quite a stir, and a love story ensues between a vampire, Bill Compton (Stephen Moyer) and Sookie Stackhouse (Paquin), an innocent waitress who can read people's minds.

The pilot cast of the True Blood also includes Brook Kerr, Ryan Kwanten and Sam Trammell.

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