"Moonlight" fans give blood to save vampire show

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - Fans of CBS' "Moonlight" are so passionate about the vampire drama that they're willing to sacrifice their own blood to keep the rookie series on the air.

Teaming with the Red Cross and online protest rally point YouChoose.net (www.youchoose,net), "Moonlight" viewers are organizing a nationwide blood drive to garner network support for a second season. They claim that more than 3,000 fans have pledged to donate a pint each.

"Moonlight" star Alex O'Loughlin has been so moved by fans' efforts that sources close to the series said he is becoming a spokesman for the Red Cross. The spokesmanship position will be announced this week.

For all the dramatic effort fans are expending to rescue the show, here's the kicker: "Moonlight" isn't in any imminent danger of cancellation. Although modestly rated (7.5 million viewers to date), the show is considered very likely to receive a pickup for the fall. Additionally, "Moonlight" still has four original episodes set to air when it returns April 25, so there's plenty of time for CBS to mull its fate.

Still, "Moonlight" fans aren't taking any chances.

"We wanted to celebrate the return of episodes and really focus attention on the show," said Barbara Arnold, who helped promote the blood drive. "They say one pint of blood saves three lives. So if we can collect 3,000, wouldn't that be nice?"

The fan intensity could be wearying for CBS.

The network just finished extinguishing a yearlong fan uprising about its other ratings-challenged cult drama, "Jericho" (which the network canceled last month). At least executives can take heart that, unlike in the infamous "Jericho" peanut-mailing campaign, "Moonlight" fans are using their blood to help a good cause rather than sending it to the network.

Reuters/Hollywood Reporter