# The Strain (2014)

> A CDC epidemiology team in New York City battles an ancient vampire strain spreading through the city's population.

Canonical page: https://ember.film/tv/42917

## Facts

- Seasons: 4
- Episodes: 46
- Episode runtime: 44 min
- Status: Ended
- Genres: horror, science fiction, drama
- Created by: Guillermo del Toro, Carlton Cuse
- Network: FX
- Cast: Corey Stoll, Kevin Durand, Miguel Gómez, Mía Maestro, David Bradley, Jonathan Hyde, Richard Sammel, Max Charles
- TMDB rating: 7.3/10
- IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2654620/

## Ember's analysis

- Pacing: brisk
- Intensity: strong
- Complexity: accessible
- Violence: graphic
- Tone: grimy, tense, dread-filled, gothic, relentless

## What critics say

Audiences rate The Strain as a positive, high-concept vampire thriller with a strong start, though its middle seasons are often faulted for drifting.

## Synopsis

The Strain (2014-2017) is an American horror thriller series created by Guillermo del Toro and Carlton Cuse for FX. Dr. Ephraim Goodweather (Corey Stoll), head of the Center for Disease Control's Canary Team in New York City, leads investigators into a mysterious viral outbreak that carries the hallmarks of an ancient and evil strain of vampirism. Alongside his team, including the blunt former military operative Vasiliy Fet (Kevin Durand) and the elderly vampire scholar Abraham Setrakian (David Bradley), Eph follows clues through hospitals, tunnels and back alleys as the contagion spreads. Across four seasons the series builds a serialized, continuing story in which everyday New Yorkers are drawn into a war for the fate of humanity itself. Its tone is grimy, tense and relentlessly dread-filled, with a gothic undercurrent beneath its procedural investigation. Fans of 28 Days Later, The Walking Dead and Blade will find resonance in its blend of epidemic survival and vampire mythology set in a modern metropolis.

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- [Mayfair Witches (2023)](https://ember.film/tv/129995)
- [Blade: The Series (2006)](https://ember.film/tv/4397)
- [Guillermo del Toro's Cabinet of Curiosities (2022)](https://ember.film/tv/71344)
- [The Alienist (2018)](https://ember.film/tv/62634)

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