Guillermo del Toro and Carlton Cuse Talk ‘The Strain’

FanBolt had the opportunity to speak with a film and television production dream team, Guillermo del Toro (Pan’s Labyrinth) and Carlton Cuse (Lost), about what to expect from their beautifully, creepy new vampire series The Strain, which premieres on FX this Sunday. If there’s one thing we can say about this show… it ain’t Twilight. These vamps don’t sparkle, and that’s totally not a bad thing.

Both Cuse and del Toro are adamant that these aren’t your run of the mill vampires that we’ve been inundated with these last few years. These vampires don’t brood or make you feel sorry for them. They are dangerous, sentient and ancient.

Carlton talked a bit about how he became involved in the show, stating that he’d read the first The Strain novel as a fan back in 2009, and already knew Chuck Hogan, co-author of the trilogy. So when he was approached about bringing the adaptation to the silver screen, he was pretty much already onboard. The icing on the cake was the how well the initial meeting with del Toro went and from that point on the dream team was born.

For those of you who read the book and are wondering how closely the show will follow it? “The show is it’s own experience. The book and show can be separately enjoyed, but the goal isn’t to literally translate the book into the television show,” stated Cuse. Think of the show in the same way you do Game of Thrones… the big points in the books still get hit, but the paths to get there may vary slightly along the way.

We’ll let you in on a little secret as well… FanBolt had the opportunity to check out the first 5 episodes of The Strain and the show is similar to Lost in that there’s a lot of focus on personal character situations and crises as opposed to only focusing on the supernatural elements. When I asked Carlton and Guillermo about whether or not that pattern would continue, they both confirmed that it would. “Talking about the characters’ personal lives is just as important [as focusing on the supernatural elements of the show].” Carlton commented. Guillermo chimed in as well, saying that they “try to balance the larger moments with smaller moments” in the show.

Unlike Lost, viewers will get a clear-cut ending to the series. del Toro and Cuse went to FX with a plan, which has always been to end the show after 3-5 seasons, with the absolute most being 5. So yes, if you tune in, you’ll get your pay off.

We have to say, we’re extremely excited for the premiere of this show and would definitely encourage you to check it out. You can tell some serious thought and time has been put into the creation of the mythology and the creatures, as one would expect from Guillermo del Toro, and the mystery element will keep you tuning back in for more, as one would expect from Carlton Cuse.

The synopsis for the first episode is below below:

When a plane lands in New York City with everyone on board dead, Dr. Ephraim Goodweather, head of the CDC’s Canary Project, and his team are called upon to investigate. Harlem pawnbroker Abraham Setrakian races to the airport, convinced that what looks at first like a mysterious viral outbreak might be the beginning of something infinitely more sinister.

Check back for more updates on the new series. We’ll have the full interview up soon.

The Strain premieres on FX this Sunday July 13th at 10 p.m. and will include 13 episodes.

Photo Credit: FX Networks