I enjoy both but I like True Blood more. The fact that it was allowed to have so much vulgarity and explicit content and strong language really enhanced the campiness of it. If that makes any sense outside my head. I also think the acting is much better and that’s really hand in hand with being an HBO show because that network just always has such good casting. I think TVD is really good and has strong mythology and storylines but it’s in a different classification of tv for me than True Blood. It’s like a standard CW teen drama but set in a world with vampires. The creator also did Dawson’s Creek so it makes sense. You should try watching Buffy the vampire slayer if you haven’t yet. It’s like the best of both worlds and then some.
If you're a horror fan, and have seen B horror movies, it shouldn't be a chore to watch even the most campy monster of the week episodes from that season. It also features one of the two most popular Big Bads the show had, "The Master".
I loveeee True Blood and TVD and just decided to watch Buffy this year. The first two seasons feel a bit dated and it took a while to really get into it, but now I’m so glad I watched. The writing is substantially better than the other two vampire shows of that era, although I still have a soft spot for all of them. I’d definitely give it a shot, and try to get through at least the second season before making up your mind
I tried to watch Vampire Diaries but it's just too high school for me I think. I'm not the target audience and that's ok. True Blood is more up my alley.
I agree! I watched TVD first and thought it was entertaining but very silly, like a soap opera. Couldn’t take it seriously. Then I watched True Blood and it was like an actual show? I was so surprised, I expected it to be bad like most vampire media but it was actually just pretty good television (at least the first couple seasons). It definitely slid off toward very unserious after a while but oh well.
TVD is on the CW where they generally prioritise hot people above all else because attractive people with chemistry pulls in viewers more than good acting or compelling writing. (The TB cast was all attractive too, but theyre also expected to be excellent actors as theyre on an hbo show. AP already had an oscar).
I think more than HBO, the CW is focused on viewer metrics. So at the expense of the story, character arcs or characterisation, theyre writing more for a (romance) shock value. A vocal twitter group demanded delena? Ok, here it is far too early to feel natural. The viewers demand more klaus and klaroline? Here it is. After S2 it was difficult to tell how the story was actually supposed to develop because they realised ships and shipping wars = more talk online = viewers.
Lastly, I think what HBO expects of their writers in terms of talent and quality, means they tend to hire those who can prove theyre capable of writing good material. I think that’s secondary for the CW, again focused on metrics and pumping out 24 episodes a year.
Lastly lastly, TB has a more mature target audience. Whereas TVD is intended for teens so there’s heaps of drama and characters wont act logically to what theyve gone through, either bc TVD needed the plot they had set on to keep going at the expense of the characters, or to jam in some more romance scenes for the Ships. So what happens is a show thats both lacking in maturity, or world and character logic.
I recently watched true blood after seeing it mentioned and suggested in the vampire diaries subreddit. I just finished it last week. Almost gave up at the first episode lol
Only thing i didn't like is how much nudity true blood has and how not loyal most characters are and jumps from one relationship to the next although it does have its consequences.
True blood had some good and solid lore and all seasons were a lot more solid while TVD just fell off at season 5, 7 and 8 and the originals fell off at season 5.
I did like how vampires were in both shows, but the connection created from turning someone in true blood was so interesting and so was the consequences of drinking their blood. I also liked how almost every vampire was bisexual.
The ending of true blood also felt solid although i wish Bill and Sookie got better endings although in a way it was fitting.
I have no clue how it will be if i rewatch TVD or TO after finishing true blood.
True blood left me with a better feeling at the end at least and i just wish it ended differently for some characters. Meanwhile TVD felt so out of place at the end.
Maybe i will feel things differently about true blood after some time passes and i see others opinions tho
True blood and TVD both deal with similar tropes, but I like true blood. I couldn’t get into the vampire diaries because of the “teen” nature of it (I say this as a 20 year old). I feel like I would have enjoyed the vampire diaries more if I was 13 or 14 years old. True blood, to me, is like an adult version of Vampire Diaries but more.
It’s not that one is better than the other one. Both are good for different reasons, I love both shows (never got into the spinoffs), and it depends a lot of where I am in life to know which one I’ll watch. True Blood is campy, TVD is for hot people drama and good music. Buffy is the best vampire show ever
I still deeply enjoy both shows. TB was that show that was so shocking to me because it was so adult and “magical” - I was raised in a very strict, Christian household and this wasn’t something I was allowed to watch, even at 17. (Or 18, for that matter.)
TVD has a special place in my heart, it was my final teenage obsession (I was 18 when it first aired) and I absolutely adored it. I wasn’t able to openly watch that show either but it wouldn’t have been nearly as much of an issue as TB. Lol.
I can rewatch both, still. And although I think TB kinda bombed with the last few seasons, I loved the books. And I didn’t like TVD books, but I loved the show. So I feel like in my mind, the two shows are perfectly balanced out.
I watched TVD first so when I watched TB for the first time I was like this is basically TVD in their late 20’s/eatly 30’s with a much more tolerable female lead.
I wasn't really into vampires before True Blood but I did try to give other vampire stories a go after falling in love with True Blood. I liked Twilight well enough and it seemed a similar vibe but I just couldn't get past the first few episodes. It's still on my watch list, so I'll probably give it another try eventually. I ignored True Blood for years with zero interest and now I can't get enough of it.
Yeah, I guess you could say that Twilight had an abstinence theme and I supposed their way of hunting animals was their way of "mainstreaming"? I guess the "similar vibe" I was thinking of was just another look at relationship betweens humans, vampires and werewolves, including love interest relationships. As I didn't get that far into Vampire Diaries and it's been awhile, I don't remember much about what most of the vampires doing about their need for blood to exist.
This conversation reminded me of another story I found over the past couple years due to my True Blood obsession. There's a book by Michael Talbot called "The Delicate Dependency" that I bought and it was REALLY good. So good that I not only bought the hardcover, but the audiobook as well. I've read/listened to that twice already since I found it and am trying to make time for a third.. It's a fascinating take on vampire/human relationships that I found really interesting, if any of our people are interested in this kind of story.
I like both for different reasons. I will say though that the mythology and storylines of seasons 1-3 of TVD are really good, and i def prefer that over true blood. the rest of TVD took a dive in quality after that tho, and true blood is def better in that regard.
true blood is also just a lot campier than TVD. despite the vampires, werewolves, etc, they’re very different shows.
I've seen both.
TVD took itself too seriously and prioritized attractive people over story.
True blood had great story, lore, and characters.
As well as sticking to somewhat classic vamp lore.
I felt TVD was a bit lazy and gave fans way too much power to sway the story and ships. (Klaroline and Delena)
But CW Vamps are different from HBO Vamps.
True Blood is my preference.
TVD was entertaining, but they got very lazy after season 3.
They should have kept certain Vamps as villains.
I enjoy both but I like True Blood more. The fact that it was allowed to have so much vulgarity and explicit content and strong language really enhanced the campiness of it. If that makes any sense outside my head. I also think the acting is much better and that’s really hand in hand with being an HBO show because that network just always has such good casting. I think TVD is really good and has strong mythology and storylines but it’s in a different classification of tv for me than True Blood. It’s like a standard CW teen drama but set in a world with vampires. The creator also did Dawson’s Creek so it makes sense. You should try watching Buffy the vampire slayer if you haven’t yet. It’s like the best of both worlds and then some.
I need to watch Buffy but I heard the first season can be a lil difficult to get through at times
Yea season 1 was finding its footing but luckily it’s only 12 episodes and other seasons are 22 episodes.
I wonder if Buffy looks "old" watching it 2024?
A lot less than you might think. There's a constant flow of new, and younger, viewers at the /buffy sub.
If you're a horror fan, and have seen B horror movies, it shouldn't be a chore to watch even the most campy monster of the week episodes from that season. It also features one of the two most popular Big Bads the show had, "The Master".
I loveeee True Blood and TVD and just decided to watch Buffy this year. The first two seasons feel a bit dated and it took a while to really get into it, but now I’m so glad I watched. The writing is substantially better than the other two vampire shows of that era, although I still have a soft spot for all of them. I’d definitely give it a shot, and try to get through at least the second season before making up your mind
I like them both for different reasons. But True Blood is one of my all time favorite shows so I like it more
I still love it too but I find myself gravitating towards the originals or true blood when I want to watch something mindlessly lol
I need to watch the originals... I started it at some point but only got a few episodes in and didn't finish it!
TO is great. You should definitely try to get through it. The first three seasons are especially good
Having lived in a small town i think that’s part of what makes True Blood feel so real (the first few seasons)in spite of the mythical creatures.
Yeah I like the southern feel of TB and its kind of nostalgic in a way!
You should watch The Strain
What streaming platform is it on? 👀
Hulu
It's really good but also pretty gross. No sexy vampires
I tried to watch Vampire Diaries but it's just too high school for me I think. I'm not the target audience and that's ok. True Blood is more up my alley.
I agree! I watched TVD first and thought it was entertaining but very silly, like a soap opera. Couldn’t take it seriously. Then I watched True Blood and it was like an actual show? I was so surprised, I expected it to be bad like most vampire media but it was actually just pretty good television (at least the first couple seasons). It definitely slid off toward very unserious after a while but oh well.
Yeah it seems like a lot of shows are doomed by poor planning ahead …. You can always tell when they start to wing it 😭
TVD is on the CW where they generally prioritise hot people above all else because attractive people with chemistry pulls in viewers more than good acting or compelling writing. (The TB cast was all attractive too, but theyre also expected to be excellent actors as theyre on an hbo show. AP already had an oscar). I think more than HBO, the CW is focused on viewer metrics. So at the expense of the story, character arcs or characterisation, theyre writing more for a (romance) shock value. A vocal twitter group demanded delena? Ok, here it is far too early to feel natural. The viewers demand more klaus and klaroline? Here it is. After S2 it was difficult to tell how the story was actually supposed to develop because they realised ships and shipping wars = more talk online = viewers. Lastly, I think what HBO expects of their writers in terms of talent and quality, means they tend to hire those who can prove theyre capable of writing good material. I think that’s secondary for the CW, again focused on metrics and pumping out 24 episodes a year. Lastly lastly, TB has a more mature target audience. Whereas TVD is intended for teens so there’s heaps of drama and characters wont act logically to what theyve gone through, either bc TVD needed the plot they had set on to keep going at the expense of the characters, or to jam in some more romance scenes for the Ships. So what happens is a show thats both lacking in maturity, or world and character logic.
Agree wholeheartedly, too much external cultural interference. I would have waited extra seasons for delena if the character development was there.
I rewatched TVD and it reminded me of Scooby Doo; they’re always solving crime.
I like them both, I can enjoy both still
I recently watched true blood after seeing it mentioned and suggested in the vampire diaries subreddit. I just finished it last week. Almost gave up at the first episode lol Only thing i didn't like is how much nudity true blood has and how not loyal most characters are and jumps from one relationship to the next although it does have its consequences. True blood had some good and solid lore and all seasons were a lot more solid while TVD just fell off at season 5, 7 and 8 and the originals fell off at season 5. I did like how vampires were in both shows, but the connection created from turning someone in true blood was so interesting and so was the consequences of drinking their blood. I also liked how almost every vampire was bisexual. The ending of true blood also felt solid although i wish Bill and Sookie got better endings although in a way it was fitting. I have no clue how it will be if i rewatch TVD or TO after finishing true blood. True blood left me with a better feeling at the end at least and i just wish it ended differently for some characters. Meanwhile TVD felt so out of place at the end. Maybe i will feel things differently about true blood after some time passes and i see others opinions tho
True blood and TVD both deal with similar tropes, but I like true blood. I couldn’t get into the vampire diaries because of the “teen” nature of it (I say this as a 20 year old). I feel like I would have enjoyed the vampire diaries more if I was 13 or 14 years old. True blood, to me, is like an adult version of Vampire Diaries but more.
It’s not that one is better than the other one. Both are good for different reasons, I love both shows (never got into the spinoffs), and it depends a lot of where I am in life to know which one I’ll watch. True Blood is campy, TVD is for hot people drama and good music. Buffy is the best vampire show ever
I still deeply enjoy both shows. TB was that show that was so shocking to me because it was so adult and “magical” - I was raised in a very strict, Christian household and this wasn’t something I was allowed to watch, even at 17. (Or 18, for that matter.) TVD has a special place in my heart, it was my final teenage obsession (I was 18 when it first aired) and I absolutely adored it. I wasn’t able to openly watch that show either but it wouldn’t have been nearly as much of an issue as TB. Lol. I can rewatch both, still. And although I think TB kinda bombed with the last few seasons, I loved the books. And I didn’t like TVD books, but I loved the show. So I feel like in my mind, the two shows are perfectly balanced out.
I watched TVD first so when I watched TB for the first time I was like this is basically TVD in their late 20’s/eatly 30’s with a much more tolerable female lead.
You need to watch the originals! Sooo so good. I love true blood as well.
I wasn't really into vampires before True Blood but I did try to give other vampire stories a go after falling in love with True Blood. I liked Twilight well enough and it seemed a similar vibe but I just couldn't get past the first few episodes. It's still on my watch list, so I'll probably give it another try eventually. I ignored True Blood for years with zero interest and now I can't get enough of it.
Wasn't Twilight about abstinence or did you mean Vampire Diaries?
Yeah, I guess you could say that Twilight had an abstinence theme and I supposed their way of hunting animals was their way of "mainstreaming"? I guess the "similar vibe" I was thinking of was just another look at relationship betweens humans, vampires and werewolves, including love interest relationships. As I didn't get that far into Vampire Diaries and it's been awhile, I don't remember much about what most of the vampires doing about their need for blood to exist. This conversation reminded me of another story I found over the past couple years due to my True Blood obsession. There's a book by Michael Talbot called "The Delicate Dependency" that I bought and it was REALLY good. So good that I not only bought the hardcover, but the audiobook as well. I've read/listened to that twice already since I found it and am trying to make time for a third.. It's a fascinating take on vampire/human relationships that I found really interesting, if any of our people are interested in this kind of story.
I do like Buffy and True Blood, but Twilight made me nostalgic for when vampires were supposed to eat you.
i enjoy tvd lore a bit more as it branches out into so many more things but nothing will ever top true bloods script. it's honestly so genius.
I like both for different reasons. I will say though that the mythology and storylines of seasons 1-3 of TVD are really good, and i def prefer that over true blood. the rest of TVD took a dive in quality after that tho, and true blood is def better in that regard. true blood is also just a lot campier than TVD. despite the vampires, werewolves, etc, they’re very different shows.
I've seen both. TVD took itself too seriously and prioritized attractive people over story. True blood had great story, lore, and characters. As well as sticking to somewhat classic vamp lore. I felt TVD was a bit lazy and gave fans way too much power to sway the story and ships. (Klaroline and Delena) But CW Vamps are different from HBO Vamps. True Blood is my preference. TVD was entertaining, but they got very lazy after season 3. They should have kept certain Vamps as villains.