Don’t worry, True Blood fans: Alexander Skarsgard is set to return for the seventh season of the popular HBO series.

Sunday’s finale saw Skarsgard’s character, Eric Northman, seemingly meet his end (in a much-talked-about scene of full frontal nudity). An interview with show-runner Brian Buckner, however, has put speculation about the character’s future to rest. Confirming the suspicions of many fans, Buckner told TVLine that Skarsgard will indeed be returning to the show for another year.

“I can tell you that Alexander Skarsgard is going to be a part of the next season of True Blood. He will be a series regular,” Buckner stated in the interview. “I’m not going to take Alex Skarsgard out of people’s living rooms,” he joked, indicating that he knew fans would be relieved to learn of his survival.

The ratings for True Blood’s most recent finale were down from last year, though the episode still drew an audience of 4.1 million. The seventh season is already a go, as the series received a renewal order earlier this summer. Production has yet to begin on this upcoming (and possibly final) season, but Buckner promises that the series will return to its “original promise” of “let’s see if vampires and humans can get along” when the show returns next summer.