FX New Vampire Series: 'The Strain,' Top 5 Reasons to Watch the Show [VIDEO]
One of the most hotly anticipated television debut of the summer, new series "The Strain" is set to kick off on July 13 on FX Canada created by "Crimson Peak" director Guillermo del Toro and Chuck Hogan. An upcoming vampire horror television series, the show was based on a 2009 vampire horror novel written by the show's creators and it's the first installment in "The Strain" trilogy.
The network ordered 13-episodes for the show's first season and premiered its pilot episode at the ATX Television Festival in Austin, Texas, in early June 2014. Now set to premiere next month, Carlton Cuse will serve as the showrunner together with lead stars Corey Stoll as Dr. Ephraim Goodweather, David Bradley as Professor Abraham Setrakian, Kevin Durand as Vasily Fet, Mia Maestro as Dr. Nora Martinez and Jonathan Hyde as Eldritch Palmer.
"This is very close to my heart," del Toro said. "I'd been making notes about vampirism since I was a kid, about how vampires really would work biologically," del Toro said during an interview posted on Toronto Sun. "I wanted to go much more beyond the man in the cape with the fangs and the funny accent."
Here are the top five reasons to watch the new vampire show, "The Strain."
1. Known for his highly acclaimed movies like "Pans Labyrinth" and "Hellboy," Guillermo del Toro together with co-writer Chuck Hogan will direct pilot episode of the series.
2. Every network wants it that even del Toro was surprised how positive the reception was. "It was the greatest pitch day of my life. Every network we went to wanted the show. That never happens when you're doing something creative," he said in an interview with the publication.
3. Not like any vampire series who often romanticized in movies and television, "The Strain" will feature biological side of vampirism. "Vampires have been romanticized. We've kind of de-fanged them. I wanted to do this not as a movement, but as an alternative. It is gory, but not gory for the sake of being gory. I would say it's biologically curious. But the way the vampires breed is truly brutal," he added.
4. Since it's a show about vampires, FX has reportedly committed to allocate $500,000 to creature creation.
5. The premise reads: "A plane lands at John F. Kennedy International Airport with the lights off and doors sealed. Epidemiologist Dr. Ephraim Goodweather (Stoll) and his team are sent to investigate. On board they find two hundred corpses and four survivors. The situation deteriorates when the bodies begin disappearing from morgues. Goodweather and a small group of helpers find themselves battling to protect not only their own loved ones, but the entire city, from an ancient threat to humanity."