“True Blood,” will end its run after the 2014 season next summer.
Steadily declining ratings — Season 6 premiered to 4.5 million viewers, down 700,000 from last season — proved that viewers were heading for the exits and that the show is reaching its sell-by date.
The 10-episode seventh season will air next summer.
Series creator Alan Ball had already moved on, handing over the day-to-day to Brian Buckner — though stars Anna Paquin and Stephen Moyer remained with the series.
Based on the Sookie Stackhouse novels by Charlaine Harris, “True Blood” was an instant camp hit when it premiered in 2007, and ranks as HBO’s most-watched series behind “The Sopranos” and “Game of Thrones.”
In a statement, HBO president of programming Michael Lombardo said, “ ‘True Blood’ has been nothing short of a defining show for HBO. 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 . . . ”
“From the moment I read Charlaine’s books, I thought there was potential for something really special,” Ball said in a statement.
HBO’s “Boardwalk Empire“ and “Game of Thrones” are both entering their fourth seasons, but “GOT” won’t return until next spring.
“The Newsroom,” whose ratings have slipped, has yet to be renewed.