'True Blood' sharpens fangs for June 13 return

HBO’s undead romance is about to be rekindled.

Pay net’s vampire drama “True Blood” will begin the 12-episode run of its third season June 13. Season two, which ended Sept. 13, drew record ratings, making “True Blood” the cabler’s most-watched contempo show.

Night should be competitive as CBS will offer the Tony Awards and ABC a NBA Finals game.
For the season two finale, 5.1 million viewers tuned in. Cumulatively — including video on demand, repeat telecast and DVR numbers — “True Blood” drew more than 12 million per episode last season. 

Cast changes for season three include the addition of Alfre Woodard and Kevin Alejandro (“Southland”) and the loss of Michelle Forbes.

Series, exec produced by Alan Ball and Gregg Fienberg, and starring Anna Paquin, Stephen Moyer and Sam Trammell, is based on the series of novels by Charlaine Harris.
Elsewhere at HBO, cabler launched the first installment of the $200 million 10-episode miniseries “The Pacific” Sunday.

In other cable news, MTV’s upcoming scripted series “The Hard Times of RJ Berger” will launch 11 p.m. June 6, following the MTV Movie Awards. Half-hour laffer follows a late-blooming loser with an anatomical gift. Show, created by David Katzenberg and Seth Grahame-Smith, will move to its normal Monday 10 p.m. timeslot June 14.