I'm writing this with 2 episodes to watch before the series finale (which I hope they don't blow). I love it. Like every show there's somethings that make you disappointed in some characters, but if everything went perfect and everyone remain the same it wouldn't be a roller coaster ride. There was a lot of sex, they dealt with the issue of drugs, trust, honor, betrayal, racism, bigotry, mental illness, mob mentality and of course love. There's probably more issues I missed but it gave you more awareness than just being a vampire romance novel. Some of my favorite characters were some would not consider as worthy. Like Pam, Lafayette, Tara, and even poor Hyot. The main characters most certainly carried their weight. I developed a love hate relationship with Sookie, the proper southern gentleman was done superbly, the viking finally earned my respect as a character, the shapeshifter became less pathetic but you couldn't help but like him, the jock made me laugh and repeat some of his lines as jokes to my wife, the BFF was the one you want and don't want, which should the true definition of bff, and the town is what I'd expect of a small town. I can't be positive because I never lived in a small town but I feel it would be quite similar. I recommend this show if you like drama, action, gore, sex, romance, shock, twist, real life situations, rolled up into fantasy this would be the show for you. I really don't remember this show being so popular when it was out because I worked too much and didn't have HBO, but with streaming I feel I chose a great one. Later I found out it was considered a must watch show and I see why. I give it a big 👍.