Alan Ball, creator of HBO's popular vampire drama True Blood, has revealed there will only be 10 episodes in its sixth season, instead of the usual 12. This reduction is due to accommodating Anna Paquin's real-life pregnancy and to help the show's economics. Paquin is due to give birth to twins this November, so production on season 6 won't start until January 2013. It's not yet known if this means the premiere will be pushed back next summer, or if the show will maintain its deadline because there are fewer episodes to produce. They may even start airing the new season before they're wrapped filming, which isn't unheard of.
Whatever happens, cutting the season down seems like a good idea to me. There's always been too much filler on True Blood, so maybe things will feel less overburdened with pointless nonsense next year (ahem, Ilfrit fire demon, ahem!). I guess we'll see when True Blood returns, without Alan Ball as showrunner.
