TelevisionWeek Poll Praises True Blood

True Blood, HBO’s freshman supernatural tale of vampires, shapeshifters and mind-readers is still getting great buzz. In a TVWeek semiannual Critics Poll, the freshman series placed fifth among TV writers’ favorite shows. That made True Blood the only new series to place in the top 10 and one of only five new shows to make the top 25.

The show has also garnered two Golden Globe nominations. It debuted to modest viewership but kept growing through word-of-mouth and now HBO estimates as many as 7 million people watch the show. That number includes HBO’s numerous weekly rebroadcasts and video on demand viewings.

TVWeek also showered some posthumous love on recently canceled Pushing Daisies. The quirky fantasy dramedy about a piemaker who can reanimate the dead with his touch placed first in last year’s poll. With its cancellation all but a foregone conclusion, the buzz was a little less this time around. But Daisies still placed eighth in the rankings. Sad to see you go, Daisies. Sad to see you go.

Photo: HBO/Jamie Trueblood