True Blood casts Chris Meloni as vampire

Chris Meloni has booked his first post-SVU gig — and it’s a bloody good one.

The former star of the Dick Wolf drama will join HBO’s True Blood  in season 5 as an “ancient, powerful vampire who holds the fate of Bill and Eric in his hands.” He will be a series regular.

Meloni’s role on Alan Ball’s drama marks a homecoming, of sorts: The actor previously played Chris Keller on the pay cabler’s gritty drama Oz from 1998 to 2003.

Earlier this year, Meloni decided to step down from playing Detective Elliot Stabler on the long-running NBC drama.

Though no official return date has been set, True Blood is expected to bow in June.

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  By Lynette Rice