Eric Northman
True Blood
Based on the Sookie Stackhouse novels by Charlaine Harris, True Blood was created for HBO by Alan Ball (Six Feet Under). In 2009, the show was nominated for a Golden Globe for Best Drama Series and earned Anna Paquin the Golden Globe for Best Actress in a Television Drama Series.
Season one follows the characters through the first book in the series, Dead Until Dark, and Eric's role is much the same as in the book. He meets Sookie when Bill brings her to Fangtasia to investigate the murders of Maudette and Dawn, and he calls her back later to help him find a thief in his bar. One major change is that Bill stakes Long Shadow on the show, while Eric stakes him in the book. Bill's action on the show leads to a tribunal and punishment, while Eric's action in the book leads to a plot point in Dead as a Doornail, the fifth book in the series.
Season two was based on the second novel, Living Dead in Dallas, more or less, though Eric had a larger part in the book. Godric is not Eric's maker in the books.
Season 3 follows Club Dead, in which Sookie goes to Mississippi to investigate Bill's disappearance.