FX takes Guillermo del Toro & Chuck Hogan’s ‘THE STRAIN’ to a Full Series in 2014!

The Hollywood Reporter reported that FX has given the official order of Guillermo del Toro & Chuck Hogan’s The Strain adaptation to a 13-episode season yesterday. It was pretty much going to happen but everyone aboard, with addition to the fans of the books, has been awaiting the official word.

From the article on THR:

“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,” del Toro said.  “Working with FX has yielded an amazing experience with total creative freedom and support.”

FX Networks president and GM John Landgraf told reporters in March that The Strain, which was then prepping to film its pilot, already had assembled a writing staff and picked up additional scripts — a strong sign the pilot would earn a series order.

“We could not be more excited to be moving forward with Guillermo, Carlton and Chuck on The Strain,” said FX Networks and FX Productions presidents of original programming Eric Schrier and Nick Grad. “This is an epic story with stunning visuals and remarkable acting. The Strain totally reimagines and reinvents the genre.”

The Strain is a high-concept thriller that tells the story of Dr. Ephraim Goodweather (Corey Stoll), the head of the Centers for Disease Control Canary Team in New York City. He and his team are called on to investigate a mysterious viral outbreak with hallmarks of an ancient and evil strain of vampirism. As the strain spreads, Eph, his team, and an assembly of everyday New Yorkers wage war for the fate of humanity. Co-starring on the series are Mia Maestro, Sean Astin, Kevin Durand, Natalie Brown, Jonathan Hyde, Richard Sammel, Robert Maillet, Jack Kesy, Ben Hyland, and Miguel Gomez. Exec producers del Toro and Hogan co-wrote the pilot script for The Strain, which was directed by del Toro. Carlton Cuse, who also serves as a co-showrunner on Bates Motel, will be the showrunner for the television adaptation. FX is planning on a 39-65 episode run, so it is good to hear that they are thinking on the long-term.

The pilot was completed earlier this year and according to Deadline, one role has already been recast. The role of Professor Abraham Setrakian was originally played by John Hurt. No word on Hurt’s departure, which is a shame because Hurt would be a great asset for the series. Not to mention del Toro’s attachment to the actor and the character. Guillermo del Toro said “Chuck and I always visualized him while writing The Strain novels and he is absolutely perfect for the part!” previously when Hurt was attached this past June. It is also not stated in this announcement if del Toro will be on as director if the pilot episode is reshot. It could also be possible that only Hurt’s scenes would be reshot as well.

If you don’t know about The Strain, why not hear what del Toro has to say about it?

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While we are on the video train, hear what co-star Sean Astin has to say about his character and the script for the show.

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I’m really looking forward to the series but in the meantime, maybe I should dive into the books or the comics. Our comic guru, Chris Melkus, has previously wrote about some issues in the The Strain: The Fall series. You can read his write ups of Issue #1 here, Issue #2 here and Issue #3 here.