When The Strain premieres on Sunday, it will be the culmination of many years of work, both behind and in front of the camera, as well as time spent writing the original series of novels. Penned by Guillermo Del Toro and Chuck Hogan in 2009, The Strain isn't like any other vampire series currently on air. Executive Producer (who also doubles as the director of the pilot) Guillermo Del Toro and Showrunner Carlton Cuse sat down with a number of press members for a conference call in preparation of The Strain's premiere.
In the nearly 90 minute interview, Carlton Cuse and Guillermo Del Toro made it abundantly clear that The Strain is not a vampire love story (Carlton jokingly said that these vampires are not sparkling or depressed) and that this show really takes vampires back to their origins. Del Toro, in particular, was extremely energetic about the mythology of the earliest records of vampire stories. Additionally, Del Toro discussed his ideas of The Strain's vampires biology. Be sure to read the portion of the transcript below on the vampire's biology. The detail in which Del Toro has created these creatures is simply fascinating. He is truly a master story teller.
During the interview, SpoilerTV was allotted a single question for Del Toro and Cuse. When I asked them what made The Strain special for them, Cuse and Del Toro both referenced the biological differences that the vampires of this story have with any other vampire. Del Toro likened these vampires to those that appeared in Blade II. They both also mentioned the many layers of mythology that the show contains. On multiple occasions, Del Toro mentioned the sort of hierarchy of vampires that we will see and the mythological aspects that go into that.
The interview was an absolute blast and I was honestly fascinated by the amount of time and thought that they had both put into the work. I highly recommend that you read through the transcript below for an excellent sneak peek into what you can expect for The Strain.
