And the Emmy goes to... Bill Compton! er.. Stephen Moyer!

Zap2it.com: 'True Blood' wins 'Breakthrough' honor at the Emmys. Whazzat?

Zap2it.com | By Rick Porter

"True Blood" wasn't up for any awards at Sunday night's Primetime Emmy telecast, but it earned some accolades during the broadcast anyway.

The HBO series won something called the "Breakthrough Performance of the Year" that was announced near the end of Sunday's show, beating out Kris Allen's crowning moment on "American Idol" and Chuck kissing Blair on "Gossip Girl."

So what, exactly, is the Breakthrough Performance of the Year? It doesn't really have anything to do with the Emmys, for starters. It's a fan poll sponsored by TV.com (owned by CBS, which aired the awards this year) and Vaseline, which is hyping, no kidding, a "breakthrough in body lotion" and designed to recognize things that cut through the TV clutter and grabbed people's attention over the past season.

Fans decided that Bill (Stephen Moyer) meeting Sookie (Anna Paquin) for the first time on "True Blood" was the most breakthrough-y moment of the year. Oddly enough, after "So You Think You Can Dance" host Cat Deeley announced the winner, the tie-in ad that followed it congratulated "Bill Compton of 'True Blood'" on his win -- and not the actor who plays him. Memo to Vaseline: Vampires aren't real.

For the record, "True Blood" did win one Emmy this year, for outstanding casting for a drama series. It was also nominated for outstanding art direction for a single-camera series and outstanding main title design.

'True Blood' Emmy Snub: Five Reasons The Series Deserved A Nomination

From MTV Hollywood Crush
Posted July 16th, 2009 by Amy Wilkinson in TV News

It's as predictable as a vampire's thirst for human blood. Each year a more-than-deserving series is left out in the cold come Emmy nominations time. The glaring omission that had me seeing red this year is HBO's much-talked-about vampire series, "True Blood." Sure, they picked up a few Creative Arts (or "Schmemmys" as Kathy Griffin calls them) nominations in art direction, title design and casting, but no "Big Show" nods to speak of. Oh, the bloody horror! We at Hollywood Crush are obviously fans of the show and in protest of the series' snub we've compiled a list of the five reasons the show deserved to be nominated (the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences — we hope you're paying attention!).

1. It's the highest rated show on HBO
The second season premiere of "True Blood" garnered 3.7 million viewers, the network's highest rating since the "Sopranos" finale two years ago. The show even bested itself this week soaring to 3.9 million blood-thirsty watchers. Yet, its HBO brother "Entourage," a show which rambles through the same predictable plot arc each season, gets a nomination for "Outstanding Comedy Series."

2. It has a deeper message
Sure, it's a show about vampires. Sexy ones at that. But when you dig a little deeper in the dirt you find an allegory that examines gay rights, racism, and religion.

3. It has a superb cast
No weak links here. Virtually the entire cast of "True Blood" is Emmy worthy (Anna Paquin's even got an Oscar to her name), but we give special props to Ryan Kwanten for his portrayal of earnest yet dim-witted Jason Stackhouse and Alexander Skarsgård who plays vampire Eric with a chilling likability.

4. It's an adaptation with legs
Instead of copying Charlaine Harris' The Southern Vampire Mysteries series scene for scene, creator and director Alan Ball used the author's world as a reference point for his own vision of Bon Temps, LA. He's noticeably deviated from the books (SPOILER ALERT! Lafayette should be dead by now), but many of Charlaine's fans don't seem to mind, which speaks to the likability of Ball's series.

5. It's just darn good television
'Nuff said.