FX Orders Drama Series The Strain, Sets a July Debut

FX has announced that it has picked Guillermo del Toro’s The Strain up to series, giving it a 13-episode first season order and setting a July 2014 premiere. Based on the bestselling trilogy of novels written by del Toro, production begins in Toronto later this month and Lost‘s Carlton Cuse will serve as showrunner.

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

The Strain tells the story of Dr. Ephraim Goodweather, the head of the CDC Canary Team in New York. He and his team are called upon to investigate a mysterious disease outbreak that has hallmarks of an ancient strain of vampirism. Before long, the strain spreads throughout the country and the team is forced to the frontlines in the battle for humanity. The cast includes the likes of Corey Stoll, Sean Astin, Mia Maestro, Kevin Durand, and Natalie Brown.

The series was one of two drama pilots in contention for a series pick up at the network, the other being Middle East-set Tyrant, executive produced by Homeland‘s Howard Gordon and Gideon Raff. However, a pick up for The Strain, which has had a writer’s room assembled for quite a while, doesn’t mean that Tyrant is dead, necessarily. In fact, that series is said to have a writer’s room of its own, meaning that FX liked what they’ve seen enough to want to know where the series would go if it were to be picked up. With a decision on The Strain, word on Tyrant could be coming sooner rather than later.

Will you be watching The Strain? Do you think the show will fit in with the rest of FX’s drama? Is summer the right time of year to air a show like this?