Alan Ball leaves TRUE BLOOD
Alan Ball, the creator and showrunner of HBO's True Blood , is stepping down from his position. He will take a back-seat role on the vampire drama as it continues into its sixth season. According to HBO he will have a 'supervisory' role on the show going forward, but will also be developing new projects for the company. Ball's first post- True Blood role will be as an executive producer on Cinemax's upcoming original series, Banshee (which will not feature any supernatural elements). Cinemax is owned by HBO and is developing an original programming schedule with HBO's advice and input. Ball is also developing an original series for HBO focusing on the life of an abortion doctor, likely to be controversial. This is an interesting move, the first time (to my knowledge) that HBO has elected to continue a TV show after its original creator/showrunner has stepped down. Previously the departure of a showrunner has led to the cancellation of the series. However, with ...