True Blood, Big Love, and Tilda

A couple of updates on HBO shows courtesy of The Hollywood Reporter.

 

True Blood

Brit Morgan (TV's "The Middleman") has scored the role of Debbie Pelt on Alan Ball's vampire drama.

 

Pelt is the ex-girlfriend of Alcide (Joe Mangiello) and isn't a big fan of the series lead character Sookie (Anna Paquin).

 

Morgan joins several newcomers for the upcoming third season including Mangiello, Alfre Woodard, Theo Alexander, Grant Bowler, Lindsay Pulsipher, Cooper Huckabee and J. Smith-Cameron.

 

Big Love

HBO has renewed its Mormon drama "Big Love" for a fifth season. The show's season premiere drew in 1.7 million viewers, up 49% on the previous year.

 

The show is currently just several episodes into airing its fourth season. The show's creators tell the trade that the upcoming second half of the fourth season gets quite deep and dark, while the fifth season will be more relaxed.

 

Tilda

Oscar-winning filmmaker Bill Condon ("Dreamgirls," "Gods and Monsters") is set to write, executive produce and potentially direct the pilot of a new HBO comedy series.

 

The story centers on a powerful female online showbiz journalist with a no-holds-barred style. Condon recently helmed the pilot of Showtime's black comedy "The C-Word" starring Laura Linney.