AfterEllen has details on the new Lifetime series Blood Ties, based off the popular Tanya Huff vampire novels:

It’s a dark world, full of vampires and death. It’s populated with supernatural killers and reluctant heroes. It stars a female bisexual private investigator with failing vision and her 450-year-old male bisexual vampire sidekick. And it’s coming to television screens in the United States on March 11, when Lifetime debuts Blood Ties, a Canadian-made series based on the novels by out lesbian fantasy writer Tanya Huff.

But in the television series, the bisexuality of the two main characters may be as invisible as a vampire’s reflection in a mirror. AfterEllen.com spoke with Huff at her home in rural Ontario, Canada, and she was blunt about how the show addresses the bisexuality of two of the characters: “It isn’t addressed. It’s there, but it’s more behind the scenes; it’s more implied than actually out. … But everyone’s hopeful they can slide things past network.”

snip

Making the de-queering of Blood Ties harder — or perhaps easier — to swallow for lesbian fans is the casting of Christina Cox in the lead role of detective Vicki Nelson. Cox, who played the iconic lesbian role of Kim in Better Than Chocolate, was the hands-down choice for the role for both Huff and her wife, fantasy author Fiona Patton.

“Oh, I was thrilled,” said Huff. “They were showing me the audition tapes, and I was practically incoherent when they showed Christina’s. In fact, I used to watch [her when she was on the series] F/X. … and back then I used to say, ‘You know, in a few years she’d be a terrific Vicki.’ And so when I saw her audition tape. … she looked great with every single actor they put her up against. It was just incredible. And now I’ve seen her do it? I honestly cannot imagine anyone else in the part.”

Cox plays Vicki Nelson, an ex-cop who left the force when she started to lose her eyesight. She becomes a private investigator and is hired to solve a murder by the victim’s girlfriend, Coreen Fennel (Gina Holden). During her investigation, Vicki hooks up with a 450-year-old vampire named Henry Fitzroy (Kyle Schmid), the illegitimate son of Henry VIII.

I’m not sure what to make of it. To me the bisexuality was not an important part of the Huff novels (iirc and it’s been a long time since I read them). The main “hookups” so to speak occurred between Vicki and Fitzroy and Vicki and her police detective partner when she was on the force (drawing a blank on his name now). What do you think?

I noticed the bisexuality a bit more, but that’s just me.

When I saw it’d be on Lifetime, I kind of guessed there would be changes, so I’m not that surprised. A little disappointed, maybe.