Guillermo Del Toro’s ‘The Strain’ Ordered To Series By FX
FX has ordered 13 episodes of Guillermo del Toro’s drama series The Strain.
The series is based on the best-selling vampire trilogy of the same name by del Toro and Chuck Hogan. The Strain begins production in Toronto later this month and is scheduled to premiere in July of next year. Carlton Cuse (Lost) will serve as showrunner and executive producer.
“We could not be more excited to be moving forward with Guillermo, Carlton and Chuck on The Strain,” Eric Schrier and Nick Grad, presidents of original programming for FX Networks and FX Productions, said. “This is an epic story with stunning visuals and remarkable acting. The Strain totally reimagines and reinvents the genre.”
Guillermo Del Toro said, “The Strain books are near and dear to my heart and now, Chuck and I have the blessing of a partnership with Carlton and FX that holds great promise. Working with FX has yielded an amazing experience with total creative freedom and support.”
Carlton Cuse added, “Working with visionary filmmaker Guillermo del Toro and the team at FX has been a dream come true for me. Guillermo’s epic, cinematic pilot for The Strain starts a chilling and compelling story that will upend everything you thought you knew about vampires.”
The Strain stars Corey Stoll, Sean Astin, Natalie Brown (taking over the role from Lauren Lee Smith), Mia Maestro, Kevin Durand, Richard Sammel, Ben Hyland, Miguel Gomez, Robert Maillet, Jack Kesy, and Jonathan Hyde.
The role of Professor Abraham Setrakian, which was previously held by John Hurt, is being recast, and his scenes in the pilot will be re-shot with a new actor. Del Toro expressed interest in casting Roy Dotrice, who played Professor Setrakian in live-action advertisements for the first novel, in the role.
Guillermo del Toro and Chuck Hogan released The Strain in 2009. The second and third installments, The Fall and The Night Eternal, followed in 2010 and 2011. Del Toro originally envisioned the story as a television series, but turned it into a series of books with Hogan after he was unable to find a buyer.
