'True Blood': Alexander Skarsgard And Anna Paquin Get New Love Interests (No, Not Each Other!)

The casting news isn't stopping on the "True Blood" front. Hot off the heels of yesterday's trio of announcements comes word that new love interests for Alexander Skarsgård and Anna Paquin have been recruited into the HBO vampire drama's fold.

Up first is Natasha Alam (pictured), who joins season three as a new lady love for the mischeivous vampire Eric Northman (Alex). According to Entertainment Weekly, Alam will play Yvetta, a recurring character that is a new dancer at Fangtasia, the bar owned and operated by Eric. The two wind up in a controversial sexual relationship with one another, which leaves fans hoping for an Eric-Sookie coupling a bit in the lurch.

But don't worry — despite Eric's sudden unavailability and last season's cliffhanging abduction of Bill Compton (Stephen Moyer), Sookie (Anna) has plenty of romantic options to explore in the third season. Aside from Sam Merlotte (Sam Trammell), Sookie's obvious go-to rebound boy, the southern belle will set her eyes on a totally new form of monster — werewolves.

Joe Manganiello has signed onto the cast of "True Blood" to play Alcide Herveaux, a character that The Hollywood Reporter describes as "a hot and sexy alpha male werewolf." [Editor's note: some of you recognize Joe as the Tric bartender on "One Tree Hill" who Brooke (Sophia Bush) briefly dated!]

In the novel series, Alcide and Sookie join forces in an attempt to rescue Bill from his abductor — whose identity I won't reveal here, thank you very much — leading the two to develop a close bond with one another.

But Sookie and Eric aren't the only two getting new love interests. The aforementioned Entertainment Weekly report states that Gregg Daniel is joining the cast to play Reverend Daniels, a church leader that Tara's alcoholic mother turns to for "comfort."

What do you think of the latest round of casting news? Are you excited or upset by news of Skarsgård's latest love interest? How about Sookie's potential new werewolf boyfriend? Let us know your thoughts in the comments!

Tags Alexander Skarsgard, Anna Paquin, Gregg Daniel, Joe Manganiello, Natasha Alam, True Blood