Ranking Every HBO Drama Series From Worst To Best

True Blood should be the example given in TV school for how badly things can go wrong when a show sticks around beyond its welcome. The first five seasons of sexy southern vampire horror were great fun, fresh, vibrant, and exciting. The last two saw the show do the zombie shuffle back into its grave as viewers turned off in droves.

That the decline came with the departure of showrunner Alan Ball is no surprise - though we’ve discussed his weaknesses as a creative, he’s a man of real vision, and turned the successful book series by Charlaine Harris into a TV treat. It was the anti-Twilight: instead of chaste and ponderous, it was swimming with lust, gaudy as hell, and resolutely refusing to take itself seriously.

The plotting was tight, too, though, and the characters memorable. When things went wrong, it was due to a total lack of focus in the final two seasons. Mythical creatures from all over the fantasy canon were thrown in at random, and the slim thread of logic that kept the show together finally snapped.

For fans of silly vampire fun, it’s still a show worth watching, but you should be prepared for a sharp drop off.