My wife and I recently devoured (take that as you like) the first season. I caught the series opener on HBO, and saw great potential. Openers are tricky: somehow, producers have to cover enough story ground to make it coherent and "hook" the audience...all while introducing us to the main characters. Tricky business.
The series works for me because I live in southeast Texas, close enough to south Louisiana that I know some Cajun folks firsthand (yeah, I know the series takes place further north, but what the hay? - - Cajuns be Cajuns). Anytime love, sex, struggle, and horror elements come together, there's a good chance that, with a new "spin" on vampires, something good comes crawling out of the pot.
The last author to come up with a really unique twist on vamps was British horror writer Brian Lumley, when he started writing his "Necroscope" series in the 1980's. If you love vampires but crave something new in their world, don't overlook "Necroscope" and its successors (be forewarned: you'll need about two-plus feet of space in your library if you get hooked. Mr. Lumley's still writing).
Anyhoo, our Sookie Stackhouse authoress up there in Arkansas has invented a really nifty new "take" on vamps.