Sorry, Fans: Say Goodbye to 'True Blood'

All good, crazy, sexed-up, and blood-crazed things must come to an end. So it is with True Blood, as HBO programming president Michael Lombardo announced today that the drama will be coming to an end at the end of its next season. It's time to cherish every last exclamation of "SOOKEH", to make a mental note of every last ab on Jason Stackhouse's midsection, and to reflect on your reaction to the reveal that fairies were involved.

The show — which was created in 2008 by former Six Feet Under executive producer Alan Ball as an adaptation of Charlaine Harris' Southern Vampire series — will take its bow at the end of its seventh season, which will air in 2014.

“True Blood has been nothing short of a defining show for HBO,” Lombardo said in the press release announcing the decision to end the show. “Together with its legions of fans, it will be hard to say goodbye to the residents of Bon Temps, but I look forward to what promises to be a fantastic final chapter of this incredible show.”

Brian Buckner, who took over the show when Ball departed at the end of the fifth season, also commented:

I feel enormously proud to have been a part of the True Blood family since the very beginning. I guarantee that there’s not a more talented or harder-working cast and crew out there, and I’d like to extend a personal heartfelt thanks to them for their dedication and tenacity over the years, especially this past year, as I stepped into a larger role. Thank you also to HBO for their unwavering support and of course to Alan Ball, whose genius enabled all of us to share in this incredible journey. Finally, a huge thank you to the most passionate fans in television. As we take a final walk through Bon Temps together, we will do our very best to bring Sookie’s story to a close with heart, imagination and, of course, fun.

The show remains one of HBO's most popular, ending its sixth season last month with 10.6 million viewers.

Knowing that this is a show jam-packed with so many crazy plot-twists that it's actually easy to forget there was once a cliffhanger involving a suicide bomber, it's hard to imagine what they'll think up next when it comes to wrapping up the series in spectacular fashion.

In our experience that "heart, imagination, and, of course, fun" Buckner mentioned often involves things like live fairy birth and werepanthers. We're sure they'll think of something to make the end truly memorable.

Have they done leprechauns yet?