HBO has dug up a new deal with "Six Feet Under" creator Alan Ball, but this time he's switching from the dead to the undead.

The first project covered under the two-year deal Ball signed with the premium cabler to develop new original programming will be based on the "Southern Vampire" book series.

HBO has ordered an hourlong pilot to be written and directed by Ball, who last created "Six Feet," the Emmy-winning HBO drama series about a family mortuary business that ended in August.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

HBO president of entertainment Carolyn Strauss was the executive who approached Ball with the kernel of the idea that became "Six Feet." But resurrecting Ball, who also won an Oscar for writing "American Beauty," for a new project was an unexpected development for her.

"I had always assumed that Alan was done with TV," Strauss said. "I thought he was going to do movies, so we didn't even try. Then he read this book and said, 'I want to do this.' It was really a beautiful surprise."

Ball has been busy since closing up shop on "Six Feet," penning several screenplays on spec and developing a theatrical production in New York, "All That I Will Ever Be." But he found "Southern," written by Charlaine Harris, too enticing to ignore.

"I was ready to do something a little lighter in tone than 'Six Feet,' " Ball said. "Five years of staring into the abyss was enough."

"Southern" chronicles the intermingling world of humans and monsters in contemporary rural Louisiana, particularly vampires, thanks to a synthetic blood formula that allows them to roam far from their coffins.

"The books are funny, scary, sexy, romantic, bizarre and really fun," Ball said. "I couldn't put them down. I will try to remain as true to the spirit of her book as possible."

Bringing Ball back into the fold represents a coup for HBO, which has proved adept at getting the creators of its hit series to come back for another try; "Deadwood" executive producer David Milch recently signed a new deal, and "Sex and the City" executive producer Michael Patrick King already has completed a second series for HBO, "The Comeback."

There is no set timetable for shooting the "Southern" pilot, but Ball believes it will happen sometime next year.

"Alan is a real master television writer," Strauss said. "I have a lot of confidence in his ability to create an HBO series that brings a lot of viewers to the screen."

Ball is repped by UTA and attorney Alan Hergott.