I think it’s because of several different elements: the characters and the world that Charlaine created; the performances by the amazingly talented cast; the humor, the romance, the scares; the focus we try to keep on making everything, no matter how outlandish, grounded in the emotional lives of the characters. It’s just a really fun show to make and hopefully a fun show to watch.

What were your first impressions of the people in Bon Temps?

—NADEEN CUMMINGS

They felt really authentic to me. I grew up in a semismall town in the South (Marietta, Georgia), and the descriptions of the characters, the way they behaved and spoke, it all felt like something I recognized.

I love the character of Lafayette and am so glad that he survived Season 1 of True Blood, unlike his less-fortunate counterpart in the books. Did you decide that his character would go beyond Season 1 from the beginning, or was that decision made after seeing how well he came to life on screen?

—LAURA CHEQUER

The first scene I shot with Nelsan Ellis in the pilot made it abundantly clear to me that this was a character we could never lose. I am usually not a fan of actors who improvise, but Nelsan doesn’t just improvise, he channels from planet Lafayette. In a lesser actor’s hands, Lafayette could come across as extreme or one-dimensional; Nelsan makes him strong, fierce, and deeply lovable.

Will you consider casting yourself in a cameo role each season (à la Alfred Hitchcock)?

—TEDDI SMITH

Never! I allowed myself to be talked into doing that in an episode of Six Feet Under and have always regretted it. I think it would just take viewers out of the story.

Many changes have been made from Charlaine Harris’s books to the show, and I’m wondering why you chose to paint Bill and Sophie-Anne in the light you did, as opposed to the way Ms. Harris wrote the characters? While there are a lot of similarities in Bill, it seems your Sophie-Anne is very modern and not the regal, aristocratic French queen portrayed in the series. Any insight to your decisions would be appreciated.

—SUSAN MOSS

In True Blood, Sophie-Anne appears in the same season Godric appears. We chose not to have two ancient vampires who seem barely older than children in the same season. And ultimately, every nonregular character on our show exists to create conflicts and challenges for our regular characters. Having read all the books at this point, and knowing why Bill appeared in Bon Temps in the first place, we chose to play Sophie-Anne a little differently. We also were setting up a major story line in Season 3.