'True Blood' Renewed By HBO For 7th Season Next Summer

Looks like Sookie and the vampire gang are back for a new season. "True Blood," which is currently in the middle of season six, has been picked up for a seventh season, president of HBO programming; Michael Lombardo announced today.

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"'True Blood' remains a signature show for HBO, and a true phenomenon with our viewers," noted Lombardo. "Thanks to Brian Buckner and his talented team, the show continues to be a thrill ride like nothing else on TV."

Season six of "True Blood" launched on June 26 and according to the network, early data indicates that the show already exceeding ten million viewers per episode. The show however premiered with a solid 4.5 million viewers which is a decline from season five. Season six also had an episode order cut, going from 12 to ten episodes. This was also the first season the show has had without original creator Alan Ball.

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E! news reports "True Blood" is moving forward and preparing for the big death, which some of the cast dished on during the season six premier party.

Ryan Kwanten (Jason Stackhouse) revealed, "It was tough: even in the table read when we knew that this character was going to go, there were tears galore."

Joe Manganiello (Alcide Herveaux) added, "The table read was really sad, heartfelt. That person cried. We all clapped, and then in 'True Blood' fashion, we had red velvet cake!"

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True Blood takes place in a world where vampires and humans co-exist, after vampires have "come out of the coffin", thanks to the invention of mass-produced synthetic blood that means they no longer need humans as a nutritional source. The series follows waitress and part-faerie Sookie Stackhouse (Anna Paquin), who can hear people's thoughts, vampire Bill Compton (Stephen Moyer) - now Billith, and vampire Eric Northman (Alexander Skarsgård). Alan Ball (creator of Six Feet Under) created the show, which is based on the bestselling Sookie Stackhouse novels by Charlaine Harris.