True Blood

True Blood Season 1 trailer

True Blood opening credits and theme song: Bad things - Jace Everett

True Blood is the series I chose to design characters for Claudia and Quentin to be introduced into the series as. I chose True Blood as I used to watch it so am familiar with the characters, story lines and also as there are so many different species of supernatural characters from Vampires and Werewolves to the more strange that you wouldn't usually think of such as Maenads and Ifrits. This is great for me as when I began my research I had no idea what I wanted my characters to be and what would fit their descriptions so by looking into True Blood I had such a wider range of options to begin with. 

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True Blood is set in a fictional small town called Bon Temps in Louisiana which ran between 2008 and 2014. The plot is based around a world where vampires exist (as well as many other supernatural creatures) and after Japanese scientists created a artificial blood substitute called True Blood, vampires no longer have to feed of humans anymore. It is about the struggle for humans and vampires to co-exist. The main female character is Sookie Stackhouse, a telepathic waitress who falls in love with the 173 year old gentlemanly vampire Bill Compton. After meeting Bill a whole world of supernatural creatures and dangerous encounters unravel for Sookies life to be changed forever.

Species:
- Humans
- Vampires - Technically dead, live of blood/True Blood, burn in the sunlight, super human speed and strength.
- Faerie
- Werewolves - Half human, half wolf.
- Maenad - "Maenads are the immortal female followers of Dionysus; the god of ritual madness and ecstasy. Their name literally translates as "Raving ones"." 
" they would lose all self-control, begin shouting excitedly, engage in uncontrolled sexual behavior, and ritualistically hunt down and tear animals (and sometimes men and children) to pieces, devouring the raw flesh."
-  Halfling - Half human, half faerie.
- Werepanther - Half human, half panther.
- Witches
- Shapeshifters - Shape shift into other animals
- Faerie-vampires - Faeries that have been turned into Vampires 
- Skinwalkers - Shapeshifters that can also become other humans and even vampires.
- Ifrit - Found in folklore and associated with  fire and pyrokinetics, Irits are used to induce death.
- Ghost
- Demons - Super human speed and strength like vampires and are also telepathic and can control fire
- Deities - Control cosmic forces and control over mortal beings

Audience demographics:
The target audience for this series is strictly 18+ due to the very sexual and violent scenes from the beginning and throughout the entire series, this is one of its main selling points and the age rating means they can make it more graphic and raunchy and don't have to hold back that much with many themes explored. True Blood is watched by both men and women as there is something to appeal to both sexes, typically women seem to enjoy the romance and sexual relationships and men enjoy the violence and extreme sexual nature of the show. As well as the violence, sex and relationships, the characters who bring the whole story to life are usually very attractive, even if not obviously physically there is something about them that is sexualized which makes it more enjoyable to watch. The series appeals to such a wide audience as it includes people of all categories so everyone is included, this makes it clear to see why the show has been so popular and why so many series have been able to have been made. It includes characters that are young and old adults, many different races, homosexuality and discrimination is explored which gives the shows an audience from the LGBT community. It also follows themes that the audience can relate to such as religion, addictions, equal rights and the extreme power of the media.

 

References:
http://trueblood.wikia.com/wiki/Category:Species
http://religionandpolitics.org/2012/08/27/vampires-gay-rights-and-the-political-underpinnings-of-hbos-true-blood/
http://www.theweek.co.uk/entertainment/19491/true-blood-why-young-women-are-lapping-it#
http://flavorwire.com/398558/why-do-we-keep-coming-back-to-true-blood