True Blood

It feels like vampires have been done to death. Every show seems to use the same clichés, the same settings, and even recurring characters. True Blood promises to change that, and it's mostly successful. Set in small-town Louisiana, it follows telepathic waitress Sookie Stackhouse, two years after an obtainable synthetic blood allows vampires to reveal themselves to humans. Treated as second-class citizens and struggling for equal rights, they must avoid the growing number of anti-vampire groups. Sookie, meanwhile, finds herself falling for 172-year-old Bill Compton, and their complex relationship begins. Exploring the mix of two worlds, True Blood paints a dark world of murder and betrayal, but also draws parallels with the LGBTQ rights movement. It refuses to shy away from taboo, saturated with nudity, gore, and death. Dialogue and plot weaves intricately through the first five seasons, all delivered on a beautiful backdrop.