FX Orders Guillermo Del Toro's 'The Strain' To Series

Next summer, the twisted mind of Guillermo del Toro will be on display weekly. The Strain, an FX series based on a trilogy of vampire books del Toro co-wrote, has just been ordered to series by the network. The first of its 13 episodes will premiere in July 2014 with Lost's Carlton Cuse as the showrunner. Del Toro directed the pilot.

The Hollywood Reporter wrote about the news. Written by del Toro and Chuck Hogan, The Strain is a book about a deadly virus that spreads and begins to take over the world. However, unlike most fictional viruses, this one doesn't kill people or turn them into zombies — it turns them into vampires. The 2009 novel spawned two sequels, The Fall and The Night Eternal.

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

FX already has a horror hit with American Horror Story, and this blend of the hot vampire genre with a Walking Dead sensibility sounded like a winner from the start. We'll surely be seeing much more from the show as we get closer to next summer.

Have you read these books? Are you excited for the series?