Every season of True Blood has seen the addition of a new batch of cast members and this year is no exception. Rutger Hauer was the big casting addition we covered late last year and we have news of two actresses who have joined the series with significant roles.

TVLine reports that Jurnee Smollett (Friday Night Lights, pictured below) has been cast as a series regular. Her character's name is Nicole, and she's described as "a do-gooder who possesses the rosy outlook of someone that life hasn’t beaten down yet. She’s not concerned with money and more concerned with the doing what’s right."

Amelia Rose Blaire (90210, pictured below) will take on the role of Willa, "the daughter of Louisiana Governor Truman Burrell. She has long clashed with her father over vampire rights." It was previously announced that Arliss Howard will be playing Louisiana Governor Truman Burrell. As mentioned above, Rutger Hauer is joining the series and will be taking on the role of Macklyn, “a mysterious and sinister figure with deep ties to Sookie and Jason." Robert Patrick has also been promoted to a series regular, so we'll see plenty of him as Alcide’s father in the show.

Series creator and showrunner Alan Ball is taking a step back from the show this season, although he remains on board as an executive producer and will consult on the creative direction of the series. True Blood‘s co-executive producer Mark Hudis has taken over as the new showrunner and filming taking place early this year.

Unlike all past seasons, it was previously announced that True Blood Season 6 would only contain ten episodes. While plans could change between now and the end of filming, here is what Alan Ball had to say during an earlier interview: “We’re moving production to January to accommodate her. And there will only be 10 shows next season partly because of Anna [due to her recent pregnancy] and partly because of the economics...”

Jurnee Smollett

Amelia Rose Blaire

Source: TVLine