Are True Blood fans ready for another hunk to enter Sookie's life?

On season three of this HBO smash, Joe Manganiello comes aboard in the key role of Alcide Herveaux, a werewolf sent by Eric to protect Sookie in her search for Bill. What can we expect from this character?

"He's kind of a moral compass on the show," Manganiello told MTV. "He's big, he's strong and he's protective. He's a good person."

Female viewers also hope he'll be shirtless a lot...

The actor went on to compare Alcide to a childhood toy. To wit:

"I describe him as a slinky. It's this coiled piece of metal that when it's coiled a certain way, it can walk downstairs and do these amazing things. But if you were to try and straighten that slinky out, it would cease to be special. That's kind of how I see Alcide in a way - he's this amazing creature trying to live within the confines of human society. It's a lonely existence."

While True Blood spoilers have revealed Alcide and Sookie will confront an underground society of werewolves, any attraction between this pair will run into a problem. A psychotic problem, at that.

"Alcide has a psycho ex-fiancée named Debbie Pelt (Brit Morgan) who's floating around causing him trouble. She's crazy. She's psychotic. She's twisted. It's a fascinating dynamic between her and Alcide. She's a character on the edge and Alcide's caught in that spot between letting her go and trying to save her."

True Blood returns on June 13. It will receive the full TV Fanatic treatment: reviews, photos, quotes, music and more!

Matt Richenthal is the Editor in Chief of TV Fanatic. Follow him on Twitter and on Google+.