"True Blood" Review and Interview with Creator Alan Ball

Photo credit: HBO

Of course, fans of Six Feet Under know that Ball has a history of bringing to life unconventional and diverse gay characters. And there are similarities between the shows: both have eclectic ensemble casts that integrate gay and straight stories, both are unapologetically, almost aggressively sexual, and neither is afraid of shedding light on the darker corners of the human condition.

But while SFU was, in Ball's words, "existentially exhausting" in its unflinching discussion of life in the presence of death, True Blood's take on life in the presence of ... well, undeath ... is much lighter fare. Structured as a series of delicious mysteries (in the first episode alone we're tipped off that everyone has their secrets and that there's a serial killer lurking in their midst), this is thrilling, engaging, and more-than-a-little-dirty good fun.

I had the chance to speak with Ball about his approach to his first genre project and learned that, first and foremost, Lafayette is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to gay characters (there will be others appearing later in the season) and gay storylines (there will be gay romances, and Lafayette will have more to do than flip po'boys and shovel gravel): "Certainly the vampires have this pansexual sort of thing. There's Lafayette, and later on we'll meet some more gay characters, and some more straight characters. There's something for everybody."

When asked about his efforts to bring authentic gay storylines to the table, Ball emphasized that he's not a supporter of "gay for gay's sake" characters, looking at how gay inclusion has evolved over time:

"I certainly think one of the struggles for me in terms of being a gay man is not to let the culture define who I am, just by that. For the longest time when I was growing up gay characters in movies and TV were first psychopathic villains. Then the AIDS epidemic hit and they were these long-suffering, tragic creatures that sort of had to die so we could all feel really sorry. And then I think only recently have we gotten to the point where characters can be gay without being 'the gay character'. And that was certainly an intent of mine on Six Feet Under. I wanted David and Keith's story to be of equal weight - not less less important and not more important - than Nate and Brenda's. And I think we achieved that. And I like that - I'm not interested in seeing characters where that's the only thing that defines them, because I think that's kind of condescending."

At first blush (and from the first two episodes, which is all I've seen at this point), a sexually aggressive, cross-dressing gay character who drinks during the day and sass-talks might not seem a huge break from stereotype, but let's not dismiss Lafayette out-of-hand. He's also physically strong, and utterly unintimidated by anyone or anything.

Photo credit: HBO

I asked Ball if the character had evolved from the books, and he said that he had, enormously: "In the books, he is an African-American short-order cook who works in the bar and wears eye makeup. And at one point Sookie says in the book something like, 'I really felt for him, being black and gay in this stupid redneck town. And then that's pretty much it. ... I felt that there was more there."