Hannibal
Season 3 Episode 13 “The Wrath of the Lamb”
Directed by Michael Rymer
Written by Nick Antosca, Bryan Fuller, & Steve Lightfoot
Created by Bryan Fuller
Starring Hugh Dancy, Mads Mikkelsen, Caroline Dhavernas, Gillian Anderson, Laurence Fishburne, Scott Thompson, Aaron Abrams, Nina Arianda, Rutina Wesley, Richard Armitage
NBC
Air date: Saturday, August 29th, 2015, 10pm

The beginning of “The Wrath of The Lamb,” what is most likely Hannibal’s series finale*, begins with a fire. Francis Dolarhyde (Richard Armitage) convincingly purges himself from the world and lets the oddly restorative power of flames to begin his hunt again. But in the ashes of that fire, there’s still a spark. You can hear it clicking throughout the episode’s score, like the burner on a stove waiting to be ignited.

The real fire hasn’t been snuffed out. Rather, it was just twitching and clicking, waiting to be sparked.

Hannibal
Season 3 Episode 12 “The Number of the Beast Is 666”
Directed by Guillermo Navarro
Written by Jeff Vlaming & Angela LaManna and Bryan Fuller & Steve Lightfoot
Created by Bryan Fuller
Starring Hugh Dancy, Mads Mikkelsen, Caroline Dhavernas, Gillian Anderson, Laurence Fishburne, Scott Thompson, Aaron Abrams, Nina Arianda, Rutina Wesley, Richard Armitage
NBC
Air date: Saturday, August 22nd, 2015, 10pm

We spend a lot of time in “The Number of the Beast is 666,” thinking about or around the idea of religion; specifically around the concept of who is and isn’t the devil. Jack (Laurence Fishburne), and Will (Hugh Dancy) want to believe that they aren’t the executors of damnation, but Hannibal (Mads Mikkelson) knows his place. Hannibal is the Devil this show deserves, but not the one it needs right now.

That honor falls to Will Graham.

Hannibal
Season 3 Episode 11 “…And the Beast from the Sea”
Directed by Michael Rymer
Written by Steve Lightfoot
Created by Bryan Fuller
Starring Hugh Dancy, Mads Mikkelsen, Caroline Dhavernas, Gillian Anderson, Laurence Fishburne, Scott Thompson, Aaron Abrams, Nina Arianda, Rutina Wesley, Richard Armitage
NBC
Air date: Saturday, August 15th, 2015, 10pm

The latest episode of Hannibal, titled “…And the Beast from the Sea,” wastes no time in jumping into a signature moment from the Red Dragon novel (I don’t view spoilers from the novels as sacred text, especially considering how fast and loose Fuller and company have played with source material; so I’d ruined this particular twist for myself quite some time ago) and then lets the chips fall where they may as Hannibal (Mads Mikkelsen), Dolarhyde (Richard Armitage), and Will (Hugh Dancy) all deal with the consequences.

Hannibal
Season 3 Episode 10 “And the Woman Clothed in Sun…”
Directed by Guillermo Navarro
Written by Don Mancini, Bryan Fuller
Created by Bryan Fuller
Starring Hugh Dancy, Mads Mikkelsen, Caroline Dhavernas, Gillian Anderson, Laurence Fishburne, Scott Thompson, Aaron Abrams, Nina Arianda, Rutina Wesley, Richard Armitage
NBC
Air date: Saturday, August 8th, 2015, 10pm

“I want to be recognized by you.”

One of our most natural desires as humans is the desire to connect. It’s a special emotion that allows us to form a bond over shared experiences, interests, desires, wants, needs, etc. And it’s something that Hannibal has had baked into its DNA from the very beginning. The very nature of Will Graham’s (Hugh Dancy) profession is to connect, on some level, with the killers he’s hunting. It’s that level of empathy that allows insight into the ‘design’ of these monsters. This is what drove him to thinking he could understand Hannibal Lector (Mads Mikkelsen). Empathy, as Bedelia (Gillian Anderson) tells Will, is what nearly killed him before. And what could very much kill him again.

Hannibal
Season 3 Episode 9 “And the Woman Clothed with the Sun…”
Directed by John Dahl
Written by Jeff Vlaming, Helen Shang, Bryan Fuller, Steve Lightfoot
Created by Bryan Fuller
Starring Hugh Dancy, Mads Mikkelsen, Caroline Dhavernas, Gillian Anderson, Laurence Fishburne, Scott Thompson, Aaron Abrams, Nina Arianda, Rutina Wesley, Richard Armitage
NBC
Air date: Saturday, July 30th, 2015, 10pm

Often, most of us look into a mirror without thinking twice. We check our hair or our outfit, and then move along with our day. But for some, mirrors often carry a darker and more menacing tone – reflecting back our insecurities. We see the best of us, followed by the worst of us. For Dr. Lecter (Mads Mikkelsen) and Will Graham’s (Hugh Dancy) first meeting in several years, they find themselves balancing the reflection of those two exact aspects: the best and worst of them. They can’t hide from their reflections. All that’s left in the mirror is honesty.

True Blood is meeting the true death tonight. While some of the cast members had managed to work on higher profile projects in between seasons (Joe Manganiello in Magic Mike; Alexander Skarsgard in Straw Dogs; Anna Paquin in X-Men: Days of Future Past), some of the cast did little else, choosing to hone their True Blood character (or enjoy their time off — I know I would). Still…we always had the comfort of knowing that come Summer, we could still catch Sookie and the gang jump from one bloody predicament to another.

But alas…everything must come to an end eventually, especially if it is as frivolously fun as True Blood. That doesn’t mean we won’t be able to see our faves act, direct, produce, and even write other films and television shows, right? So what can we look forward to? Here’s a look at what’s next for some of our favorite True Blood cast members.

13 Sins
Director: Daniel Stamm
Cast: Mark Webber, Rutina Wesley, Devon Graye, Pruitt Taylor Vince, Richard Burgi, Tom Bower, Ron Perlman
Automatik Entertainment
Not Rated | 88 Minutes
Release Date: March 7, 2014

Directed by Daniel Stamm (The Last Exorcism), 13 Sins stars Mark Webber (Scott Pilgrim vs. the World) as Elliot, a down-on-his-luck salesman who is having the worst day of his life.

Expecting a promotion, Elliot is fired by his ball-busting boss and loses the insurance coverage needed to keep his handicapped brother and estranged father afloat.

Drowning in debt and responsibilities with a pregnant fiancé (Rutina Wesley, True Blood), Elliot’s life is spiraling out of control. That all changes, however, when a cryptic phone call sets off a dangerous game of risk and reward.

One of the many TV shows that had a presence at the recent San Diego Comic–Con, was of course True Blood, the mega–hit HBO series set in a small Louisiana town and in a time where vampires and other creatures live among humans.

The show is currently making its way through season 4—an admirable feat for any show—and the cast and crew were on–hand as usual talk shop for the Con faithfuls. With the show already going there wasn’t much new to show off, but many questions were still to be asked and answered.

The panel was introduced, with Kristen Bauer van Straten, Alexander Skarsgard, Kevin Alejandro, Nelsan Ellis, Deborah Ann Woll, Ryan Kwanten, Rutina Wesley, Stephen Moyer, Anna Paquin, and showrunner/creator/writer/director/executive producer Alan Ball all coming to the stage.

You can see the entire hour–long panel for True Blood by heading below now!

True Blood The Complete Second Season
DVD/Blu-ray
Writers/Directors: Alan Ball, Adam Davidson, Daniel Minahan, John Dahl, Michael Cuesta, Michael Lehmann
Starring: Anna Paquin, Stephen Moyer, Sam Trammell, Ryan Kwanten, Rutin Wesley, Alexander Skarsgård, Nelsan Ellis, Deborah Ann Woll, Michelle Forbes
HBO Home Video
Release Date: May 25, 2010

The first season of HBO’s True Blood was something of a surprise hit. The crazy new b-movie-like series took some getting used to at first, but once you were engaged, there was no going back. With franchises like The Twilight Saga making loads of money off dumbed-down, sparkle-happy, family-friendly vampires, the ultra-violent and relentlessly graphic vampire drama unfolding in the southern town of Bon Temps was a bloody fresh new title to embrace.

The one thing about True Blood, however, that was hinted at in the first season and was completely unleashed in this second season, was that this is NOT just a show about vampires…not even close.

True Blood
Season 1 DVD
Series Creator, Writer, Director: Alan Ball
Starring: Anna Paquin, Stephen Moyer, Ryan Kwanten, Sam Trammell, Rutina Wesley, Nelsan Ellis
HBO Home Entertainment
Release Date: May 19, 2009

By taking the blood of the night into our bodies, we water the flowers of our souls.

Everything is permitted.

Deep south. Rednecks. Vampires that live among us. These are the main components to True Blood, the ultra-graphic HBO show from Alan Ball (American Beauty) which has completed their first incredibly successful first season and is currently moving into their second season.

The show is based on the The Southern Vampire Mysteries series of books and follows young Sookie Stackhouse (Anna Paquin), a simple southern belle with the mysterious ability to read minds who works as a waitress at Merlotte’s, the local bar in Bon Temps, Louisiana — a religious town that doesn’t have any known vampire residents. One day in this quiet town, a vampire named Bill (Stephen Moyer) shows up at the bar, and Sookie immediately greets him with a glowing curiosity which turns into real chemistry after she saves his life. This newfound vampire connection has Sookie’s boss Sam (Sam Trammell) and best friend Tara (Rutina Wesley) angry and watching carefully. Unfortunately, right around the time that Bill the vampire shows up, multiple women in this small town start showing up dead and no one really knows why — but many are quick to point a sharp finger, either at Bill, or at Sookie’s ladies man brother Jason (Ryan Kwanten), who is always romantically (physically) connected to the victims.