The Strain, the series of books written by director Guillermo Del Toro and Chuck Hogan, will be making the transition to television. On Tuesday, FX put in a full, 13-episode season order.
Del Toro, Hogan and Carlton Cuse (Lost) are on as producers, with Cuse as showrunner. Del Toro and Hogan wrote the pilot and del Toro will direct, reports TheWrap.
“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 in a statement, notes The Hollywood Reporter. “Working with FX has yielded an amazing experience with total creative freedom and support.”
FX and del Toro began developing the series in September. FX Networks president and GM John Landgraf said in March that the pilot was already heading before cameras and that a writing team was working on more scripts, which practically guaranteed that the show would live beyond a pilot.
The Strain is based on the novel and its follow-ups, The Fall and The Night Eternal. It will star Corey Stoll as Centers for Disease Control employee Dr. Ephraim Goodweather, who has to try to stop a vampire virus from spreading in New York City. Other members of the cast include Mia Maestro and Sean Astin.
The Strain will premiere in July 2014. FX’s other pilots in contention are Tyrant and Hoke.
Del Toro recently directed the summer tentpole Pacific Rim and is working on Crimson Peak. As for Cuse, he’s also overseeing A&E’s Bates Motel.
image: Amazon