The Strain, Not Just Another Vampire Series

Dymon Lewis ‘14 / Emertainment Monthly Staff Writer

Tired of sexy, sparkling vampires? Boy, has FX got a show for you.
Guillermo Del Toro’s and Chuck Hogan’s gritty vampire horror trilogy The Strain has been picked up by FX for 13 episodes and is set to premiere in July 2014.
Considering the glut of vampire horror television series already on the air- Dracula (whose poor ratings may only garner it one season), Vampire Diaries, The Originals, and True Blood (rumored to have one season left)—The Strain may initially appear as an unnecessary vampire addition to your regularly scheduled programming.
However, the series completely rejects the idea of the sexy vampire. Del Toro and Hogan’s vampires are parasites who completely corrupt their host body—leaving the human hairless and genderless. Fan wars are unlikely to ensue among teenage girls.
If this all sounds familiar you’re probably thinking of the 2002 film Blade 2 or 2009’s Daybreakers which both had sort-of similar “vampire as plague” premises, though still operated in a sexy, vampire-centric world view. But Del Toro and Hogan aren’t trying to humanize the vampire or highlight his plight—they are interested in the human response, specifically the human resistance to the vampire plague.
The Strain could be considered FX’s answer to AMC’s The Walking Dead. Del Toro and Hogan are bringing the vampire back to his nasty, original roots—let’s see if people will bite.