Krista is then approached by Blade, who injects her with the serum he uses to control his own vampire instincts, offering her a chance to avenge her brother's death and help him bring down Marcus and the House of Chthon.

The remainder of the season follows Krista's attempts to maintain her cover in the House of Chthon while struggling with her growing predatory nature, and Marcus's work on the Aurora Project, intended to develop a vaccine to render vampires immune to their traditional weaknesses (sunlight, silver, and garlic).

Spike TV executive Pancho Mansfield said: "We're extremely pleased with the pilot for Blade, which delivers a thrilling action-adventure for its built-in fan base as well as a character-driven drama filled with heart-pounding tension and suspense.

Fingaz later commented that he was not out to make people forget about the Blade films, but wanted to put his own spin on the character: "I think it's more my own direction, but I have to incorporate some of what [Snipes] did.

[6] The series adds several new characters, including Krista Starr (played by Jill Wagner), Marcus van Sciver (Neil Jackson), Chase (Jessica Gower) and Shen (Nelson Lee).

[11] Gillian Flynn of Entertainment Weekly gave it a positive review and wrote: "When gunplay, kickboxing, and throat slitting actually feel like breaks in the action, you've got a series with brains as well as teeth".

[12] The Guardian wrote: "Like most genre shows, it fumbles a lot in setting up the world and characters, but stick with it: after a few weeks it hits its stride and is a good antidote to the rather soppy bloodsuckers of True Blood and Twilight".

[14] Reviewing the series in 2017, Liz Shannon Miller of IndieWire was critical of the show: "Despite some interesting twists at the end, the cliches did pile up" and the absence of Wesley Snipes.

[21] The complete series was released on February 12, 2008 on a 4-disc DVD set by New Line Home Entertainment / Warner Bros., featuring the episodes revamped and alternated, with uncensored scenes considered "Too Graphic for TV".