Reboots and revivals of popular TV shows and movies seem to be all the rage at the moment. Streaming services like Hulu and Netflix have had a habit of taking previously cancelled shows like The Mindy Project and Gilmore Girls and giving them new life. So it might be no surprise that HBO's vampire drama True Blood is making a return. But instead of a new bloody season coming to us, True Blood's new life is probably in the most unexpected way imaginable. True Blood is being developed into a musical.
This news comes to us from TV Line, which reports that a True Blood musical is in its very early stages of development. The new music is being composed by Nathan Barr, who had previously worked on the music for the original HBO series. Book and lyrics for the piece are reportedly being written by novelist Elizabeth Scott. TV Line is reporting that the show has only recently had a secret table read, so edits and changes to the story are still heavy. No news on the specific story and characters have been announced yet.
True Blood's musical adaptation seem like a pretty strange choice, as far as new shows are concerned. The plot of the HBO drama doesn't necessarily lend itself well to musical numbers and dance breaks. While not without its comedy, the series was decidedly dark during its seven season run. And seeing the likes of Eric Northman and Vampire Bill break out into song is probably going to make them far less terrifying to the human residents of Bon Temps, Louisiana. Additionally, the show ran for so long that it'll probably be difficult to decide which stories to make a musical into. Are they just going to focus on Season 1, with the closing number focusing on Miss Jeanette's body being found by Tara and Sookie? It's all a bit confusing
Speaking financially, a True Blood musical seems like it may be a poor decision, at least if it intends on having a Broadway run. Historically, vampire musicals have been financial and critical disasters on the great white way. We've seen Broadway's vampire musicals Dance of the Vampires and Lestat open on Broadway and promptly close, causing the investors and producers to lose millions of dollars. This season on Broadway saw an adaptation of American Psycho hit the stage which, while bloody and a visual treat with music by Duncan Sheik, also closed shortly after its opening. So basically musicals about blood, gore, and vampires have yet to make any money on Broadway.
True Blood revolves around the residents of Bon Temps, Louisiana. After vampires come "out of the coffin" and reveal their existence to the human population, various mystical and supernatural forces are revealed to be living amongst us. The series is also heavily romantic, with the relationship between Anna Paquin's Sookie Stackhouse and Stephen Moyer's Bill Compton making up much of the drama for the show's run. True Blood ran for an impressive seven seasons, from 2008-2014.
Would you see a True Blood musical? Sound off in the comments below.
