You are viewing the archive: “Alan Ball”

Mark Hudis To Succeed Alan Ball As ‘True Blood’ Showrunner, Inks HBO Overall Deal

By NELLIE ANDREEVA | Tuesday May 22, 2012 @ 6:12pm PDTTags: Alan Ball, Big Deals TV, HBO, True Blood
Nellie Andreeva

Mark Hudis True BloodEXCLUISVE: True Blood co-executive producer Mark Hudis will take the reins of the hit HBO vampire drama if it gets renewed for a sixth season. With True Blood creator/executive producer Alan Ball stepping down as showrunner at the end of the upcoming fifth season, Hudis would be upped to executive producer/showrunner for Season 6 as part of an overall deal he has signed with HBO. The two-year pact also includes a development component.

Hudis has been on True Blood for the past two seasons — last year’s Season 4 and Season 5, which premieres June 10. While his and Ball’s paths previously crossed on the CBS comedy series Cybill, where they co-wrote several episodes during the 1997-98 season, the two first met two decades ago working at trade publication AdWeek. UTA-repped Hudis’ series credits also include Fox’s That ’70s Show and Showtime’s Nurse Jackie. While leaving True Blood full-time after Season 5, Ball is staying in business with HBO through his overall deal there. He will continue to be involved in True Blood and also executive produces new series Banshee for HBO sibling Cinemax.

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TV Trailers: HBO’s ‘Newsroom’, ‘True Blood’

By NELLIE ANDREEVA | Sunday April 1, 2012 @ 8:26pm PDTTags: Aaron Sorkin, Alan Ball, The Newsroom, True Blood
Nellie Andreeva

HBO has received first trailers for Aaron Sorkin’s new drama series The Newsroom and for the upcoming fifth season of Alan Ball’s True Blood. The Newsroom stars Jeff Daniels as the anchor of a primetime program on a cable news network whom the trailer portrays as outspoken, controversial and volatile. Great timing on the heels of the public firing by Current TV of Keith Olbermann who reportedly was one of the anchors Sorkin shadowed in his research for the show. The trailer also gives a glimpse at Newsroom‘s supporting cast, Emily Mortimer, Alison Pill, John Gallagher Jr, Olivia Munn, Dev Patel and Thomas Sadoski, as well as Sam Waterston as the network’s president and Jane Fonda in the guest-starring role of the CEO of the network’s parent company. As for True Blood, this is a first look at what will be the last season of the vampire drama shepherded by its creator Ball who is stepping down as showrunner.

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Alan Ball To Step Down As ‘True Blood’ Showrunner

By NELLIE ANDREEVA | Monday February 27, 2012 @ 5:37pm PSTTags: Alan Ball, True Blood
Nellie Andreeva

If HBO’s hit vampire drama True Blood goes to a sixth season, it will be without its mastermind Alan Ball at the helm. HBO and Ball just confirmed ongoing speculation that Ball would leave the series full-time after the upcoming … Read More »

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Alan Ball’s Drama ‘Banshee’ Gets Series Order At Cinemax, Greg Yaitanes To Direct

By NELLIE ANDREEVA | Wednesday January 25, 2012 @ 8:54am PSTTags: Alan Ball, Banshee, Cinemax
Nellie Andreeva

EXCLUSIVE: Alan Ball, creator/executive producer of HBO’s hit vampire drama series True Blood, is getting another series, this time on HBO’s sister network Cinemax. Cinemax has given a 10-episode order to Banshee, an action drama executive produced by Ball and … Read More »

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It’s Official: HBO Renews ‘True Blood’ For Season 5

By NELLIE ANDREEVA | Thursday August 11, 2011 @ 10:17am PDTTags: Alan Ball, HBO, True Blood, TV Renewal
Nellie Andreeva

HBO just came out with an official release confirming the Season 5 renewal of Alan Ball’s hit vampire drama True Blood. The pickup has been considered a formality as the series’ writers are already working on Season 5 scripts and Ball let slip at TCA two weeks ago that he has signed a deal to return.

LOS ANGELES, Aug. 11, 2011 – HBO has renewed the hit show TRUE BLOOD for a 12-episode fifth season, it was announced today by Michael Lombardo, president, HBO Programming.  Created by Alan Ball, the series will begin production of new episodes later this year in Los Angeles, with debut set for summer 2012. “I am thrilled that TRUE BLOOD continues to enjoy a phenomenal reception from both subscribers and critics,” noted Lombardo.  “Alan Ball and his gifted team have devised the greatest thrill ride on TV.”

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Cinemax Prepping Amish Country Series Executive Produced by Alan Ball

By NELLIE ANDREEVA | Thursday August 11, 2011 @ 12:47am PDTTags: Alan Ball, Cinemax, HBO, Jonathan Tropper
Nellie Andreeva

After relaunching original primetime programming with three action series — Strike Back, The Transporter and The Sector, all done as international co-productions — Cinemax is taking a different approach with another drama project eyed for a series order, … Read More »

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‘True Blood’ On Verge Of 5th Season Pickup After Creator Alan Ball Signs New Deal

By NELLIE ANDREEVA | Thursday July 28, 2011 @ 5:23pm PDTTags: Alan Ball, HBO, TCA Press Tour, Television Critics Association
Nellie Andreeva

UPDATE: I’ve leaned that Alan Ball’s new deal with HBO is actually multi-year. But under it, he has committed to be a full-time executive producer/showrunner on True Blood for only one more season. He is expected to reevaluate … Read More »

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HBO Series ‘True Blood’ And ‘Luck’ Add Recurring Players

By NELLIE ANDREEVA | Tuesday February 15, 2011 @ 2:00pm PSTTags: Alan Ball, HBO Luck, HBO True Blood, Luck, Luck Casting, True Blood, True Blood Casting, True Blood Season 4, TV, TV Deals
Nellie Andreeva

Daniel Buran (Level 26: Dark Origins) has joined the cast of Alan Ball’s vampire drama True Blood for a meaty seven-episode arc on the upcoming fourth season. The actor, repped by Rebel and Leverage, will play Raoul, the werewolf packmaster … Read More »

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Paramount Buys Dark Comedy That ‘True Blood’s Alan Ball Will Direct

By MIKE FLEMING JR | Monday November 1, 2010 @ 3:55pm PDTTags: Alan Ball, Movies
Mike Fleming

EXCLUSIVE: True Blood creator Alan Ball is in the center of a pitch deal that just went down at Paramount. Ball will direct and produce an untitled project that will be written by Elan Mastai. The project, which Ball will … Read More »

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HBO Pilot ‘All Signs Of Death’ Fills Cast

By NELLIE ANDREEVA | Thursday August 12, 2010 @ 2:00pm PDTTags: Alan Ball, All Signs of Death, All Signs of Death Casting, All Signs of Death Pilot, Ben Whishaw, HBO, HBO Pilots
Nellie Andreeva

Mercedes Masohn has landed the female lead opposite Ben Whishaw in Alan Ball’s pilot for HBO All Signs of Death. Rounding out the cast are Ron Yuan, Jeremy Ray Valdez, Mahershalalhashbaz Ali and Kelsey Ford, who have joined previously locked … Read More »

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British Actor Ben Whishaw Gets The Lead In Alan Ball’s HBO Pilot ‘All Signs Of Death’

By NELLIE ANDREEVA | Friday July 23, 2010 @ 11:18am PDTTags: Alan Ball, All Signs of Death, All Signs of Death Casting, All Signs of Death Pilot, Ben Whishaw, Charlie Huston, HBO, HBO Pilots, The Mystic Arts of Erasing All Signs of Death, The Tempest, TV Casting, TV Pilots
Nellie Andreeva

EXCLUSIVE: Ben Whishaw has been tapped as the lead in Alan Ball’s pilot for HBO All Signs of Death, marking the British actor’s U.S. TV debut. The dark comedic drama, based on Charlie Huston’s 2009 crime noir novel The Mystic Arts of Erasing All Signs of Death, centers on Webster Filmore Goodhue (Whishaw) an inveterate twenty-something slacker who stumbles into a career as a crime scene cleaner, Read More »

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HBO Orders ‘Death’ Pilot From Alan Ball

By NELLIE ANDREEVA | Friday July 9, 2010 @ 8:51am PDTTags: Alan Ball, All Signs of Death, Cable TV, Charlie Huston, HBO, HBO Pilots, Peter Macdissi, The Mystic Arts of Erasing All Signs of Death, The Southern Vampire Mysteries, True Blood, TV, TV Casting, TV Pilots
Nellie Andreeva

Alan_BallEXCLUSIVE: His HBO series True Blood landed its first best series Emmy nomination yesterday. Now Alan Ball is prepping a new hourlong project for the pay cable network. HBO has greenlighted a pilot for All Signs of Death, a dark comedic … Read More »

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