Alan Ball

On his childhood and early influences; on growing up in Georgia; on movies and TV shows he loved as a kid; on attending Florida State University and studying theater; on developing his interest in playwriting; on starting a theater company in New York City; on writing American Beauty

On being a graphic designer for Adweek magazine; on getting his first TV gig, writing for Grace Under Fire

On writing for Cybill; on being disheartened and writing American Beauty; on trouble on the set of Cybill; on channeling his anger from working on Cybill into writing American Beauty; on censorship and tensions on Grace Under Fire and Cybill; on memorable episodes of Cybill

On working for Marcy Carsey and Tom Werner

On how he got the idea for American Beauty; on writing for different media

On returning to TV with Oh, Grow Up; on how disappointment when the show flopped got channeled into Six Feet Under; on the premise of Six Feet Under; on storylines based on his life; on his view of death and how it influences his projects; on the title and premise of Six Feet Under; on working with HBO; on avoiding writing about necrophilia; on story ideas and research for the show

On homosexuality, morality and religion on Six Feet Under; on filming and directing the pilot episode; on the opening and title theme; on being the showrunner for Six Feet Under; on writing and staffing writers for Six Feet Under

On writing sitcoms and dramas and his preference for single-camera shows; on the dark humor on Six Feet Under; on working for HBO; on a typical production week; on casting Six Feet Under; on making the characters likable

On the main characters on Six Feet Under; on how 9/11 affected the show; on the series finale of Six Feet Under; on his Emmy win for directing Six Feet Under; on the legacy of the show

On how he got involved with True Blood; on the premise of the show and the main characters; on writing about the supernatural; on how the TV show differs from the books; on why vampire culture is such a phenomenon

On the writing process on True Blood; on the rumor that vampires are a metaphor for gay people on True Blood; on what the show says about the South and primal urges; on dealing with mortality on the show and censorship issues; on enjoying writing for certain characters on True Blood; on casting the show

On the lead characters on True Blood; on his favorite episodes of the show; on mini-episode teasers for the show and the importance of the internet to the series; on season five

On then-current projects; on Banshee and other projects in production; on creating a successful TV series; on advice to someone starting out in television; on the highlight of his career so far; on where he sees himself in ten years