The Strain
Season 4 Episode 1: “The Worm Turns”
Directed by J. Miles Dale
Written by Carlton Cuse & Chuck Hogan
Created by Chuck Hogan, Guillermo del Toro
Starring Corey Stoll, David Bradley, Kevin Durand, Richard Sammel, Jonathan Hyde, Miguel Gomez, Natalie Brown, Ruta Gedmintas, Max Charles, Rupert Penry-Jones
FX
Air Date: Sunday, July 16th, 2017, 10pm

Warning! Spoilers below for the 4th season premiere of The Strain!

At the end of last season on The Strain, the humans lost the war against the strigoi. They did fight valiantly though. Quinlan (Rupert Penry-Jones) fought his father, The Master, in a breathless confrontation. Even Palmer (Jonathan Hyde) fought on the rebels’ side until The Master “gifted” him with his presence, to Eichorst’s (Richard Sammel) dismay. Eph (Corey Stoll) finally found Zach (Max Charles) with Kelly (Natalie Brown), and killed her, causing Zach to set off the bomb that decimated the city, both with the weapon and by causing nuclear winter, allowing the strigoi to walk in daylight.

Spoilers below.

The time has come for FX’s The Strain to come to its bloody end. This vampire series based on Guillermo del Toro and Chuck Hogan‘s exciting trilogy was always meant to last 3-5 seasons. Sad for the fans who just want more story, but good for the story to end on a quality note. Showrunner Carlton Cuse is used to breaking my heart. He just ended one of my favorite series’ of all time, Bates Motel, with an incredible finale. I was also completely invested in The Returned, and I am a Lostie for life. At least I still have Colony. The Strain is one more notch in my TV heartbreak belt. The story of Ephraim Goodweather (Corey Stoll) and his band of warriors valiantly (and sometimes drunkenly) trying to fight an aggressive vampire virus and equally aggressive vampires, has been my summer go-to for that last 3 years. This “First Look” gives us the cast’s take on what is shaping up to be an explosive final season.

The Strain is also having a lot of fun on Twitter with fake Master propaganda posters. They would be funny if they weren’t so scary, both for the show and our current political climate.

Check out the video and the posters below.

Summer is coming (winter is overrated), and with it the wormy strigoi are poised to triumph over mankind. Will our plucky band of heroes be able to defeat the Master and his worshiping vamps once and for all? One way or another, the end is nigh…

Check out the promo for the final season of FX’s The Strain below.

The Strain
Season 3 Episode 10: “The Fall”
Directed by Carlton Cuse
Written by Chuck Hogan, Carlton Cuse
Created by Chuck Hogan, Guillermo del Toro
Starring Corey Stoll, David Bradley, Kevin Durand, Richard Sammel, Jonathan Hyde, Miguel Gomez, Natalie Brown, Ruta Gedmintas, Max Charles, Rupert Penry-Jones
FX
Air Date: Sunday October 30th, 2016, 10pm

Last week on The Strain, everybody tried to leave the city, and Justine (Samantha Mathis), her men, Gus (Miguel Gomez), and Angel (Joaquín Cosio) fought the flowing waves of strigoi in one last stand. Angel covered for Gus, and died a burning triumphant hero. Justine died a brave soldier as well. Gus escaped. Palmer (Jonathan Hyde) managed to steal the nuclear bomb, and ambushed Eichorst (Richard Sammel), severely injuring him. It’s about time he started to atone. Eph and Dutch (Corey Stoll and Ruta Gedmintas) finished their strigoi mind scrambler. Fet (Kevin Durand) and Eph got into a fistfight.

Warning! Spoilers for the season 3 finale of The Strain!

The Strain
Season 3 Episode 9: “Do or Die”
Directed by Ken Girotti
Written by Chuck Hogan
Created by Chuck Hogan, Guillermo del Toro
Starring Corey Stoll, David Bradley, Kevin Durand, Richard Sammel, Jonathan Hyde, Miguel Gomez, Natalie Brown, Ruta Gedmintas, Max Charles, Joaquín Cosio, Rupert Penry-Jones, Samantha Mathis
FX
Air Date: Sunday October 23rd, 2016, 10pm

Last week on The Strain, we get Gus’s (Miguel Gomez) backstory on why he wants to save his strigoi mother (other than boys and their moms). His uncles took out his father after he abused their sister once too often. He became the man of the house early. In the present day, he ended up having to put her down after she almost got Angel (Joaquín Cosio). Setrakian and Fet (David Bradley and Kevin Durand) interrogated a few key people, thanks to Palmer (Jonathan Hyde), but they missed out on getting Eichorst (Richard Sammel), who had just given us a nasty little demonstration of the blood factory. Eph (Corey Stoll) and Dutch (Ruta Gedmintas) recovered the original JFK black box, but the Master’s sound waves made Dutch really sick. When she recovered, her and Eph had sex. Quinlan (Rupert Penry-Jones) told the ancients to get off their asses. As they do, Eichhorst invaded the ancients lair with lots of bloodthirsty friends, which caused them to fight, and they were pretty good for some desiccated husks. That is, until they explode.

Spoilers below.

The Art of The Strain
Hardcover
Written by Robert Abele
Forward by Guillermo del Toro
Insight Editions
Release Date: June 28th, 2016

It’s that time of year again… the time when we return to the showdown of human vs strigoi, concentrated in New York City. For 2 seasons our morally skewed heroes viciously scrapped for survival, barely making it out of one attack after another. This season, the struggle continues as Dr. Ephraim Goodweather (Corey Stoll) deals with the double blow of losing his son to his ex-wife (Natalie Brown) and The Master (Jack Kesy), and his love Nora (Mia Maestro) to the violence.

More below.

The Strain
Season 3 Episode 2: “Bad White”
Directed by J. Miles Dale
Written by David Weddle & Bradley Thompson
Created by Chuck Hogan, Guillermo del Toro
Starring Corey Stoll, David Bradley, Kevin Durand, Richard Sammel, Jonathan Hyde, Miguel Gomez, Natalie Brown, Ruta Gedmintas, Jack Kesy, Max Charles, Joaquín Cosio, Rupert Penry-Jones, Samantha Mathis
FX
Air Date: Sunday September 4th, 2016, 10pm

Last week’s The Strain started off crazy as expected. Eph (Corey Stoll) is waiting for his vampire son to return, trading in what he thinks are useless asthma meds for liquor and a taser. Kelly (Natalie Brown) shows up with a deal for Eph – Zach (Max Charles) for The Lumen. Setrakian (David Bradley) studies it voraciously, only stopping to referee Fet and Quinlan (Kevin Durand and Rupert Penry-Jones). Gus (Miguel Gomez) keeps his strigoi mom as a pet. Fet tries in vain to save the Navy Seals from a gruesome fate at the hands of The Master (Jack Kesy).

Spoilers below.

The Strain
Season 3 Episode 1: “New York Strong”
Directed by J. Miles Dale
Written by Carlton Cuse
Created by Chuck Hogan, Guillermo del Toro
Starring Corey Stoll, David Bradley, Kevin Durand, Richard Sammel, Jonathan Hyde, Miguel Gomez, Natalie Brown, Ruta Gedmintas, Jack Kesy, Max Charles, Joaquín Cosio, Rupert Penry-Jones, Samantha Mathis
FX
Air Date: Sunday August 28th, 2016, 10pm

Spoilers if you are not all caught up…

At the end of season 2 of The Strain, our gang had split in various heartbreaking ways. Setrakian (David Bradley) had succeeded in obtaining the Lumen from Eichorst (Richard Sammel), after Palmer (Jonathan Hyde) pulled the funding. As punishment, The Master (Jack Kesy) took Coco’s (Lizzie Brocheré) eternal life, destroying Palmer. Quinlan, Gus, Setrakian, and Fet (Rupert Penry-Jones, Miguel Gomez, Bradley, and Kevin Durand) joined forces. Nora (Mia Maestro) got infected by Kelly (Natalie Brown) while defending Zach, who ended up leaving with his mom. Eph (Corey Stoll) showed up heartbroken, and Nora decided to end it instead of letting the Master use her.

More spoilers ahead for episode 3.1 “New York Strong.”

The Master (Jack Kesy) is young and powerful. Zach (Max Charles) and his mom are reunited. Nora (Mia Maestro) is dead. And hope is fading. The only thread they have is the Occido Lumen, the ancient tome that holds the secrets of destroying the strigoi. How can they prevail? FX’s First Look at Season 3 of The Strain is filled with bits of what’s to come, and has Carlton Cuse and the cast’s take on the season.

Check out the video below.

It’s over a month away, and it’s 30 seconds of video, but The Strain has the incredible ability to scare the s*** out of me. FX has released three 10-second teasers, all with jump scares, and with the stakes ever higher this season, it’s hard to see how this war can be won.

Check out the teaser videos below. And spoilers if you are not caught up!