The Strain: Season 1

METASCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 38 Critic Reviews

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USER SCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 405 Ratings

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7.5

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7.5	User Score Generally favorable reviews based on 405 Ratings

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The Strain

Now Playing: The Strain

Season Details & Credits

FX | Season Premiere Date: July 13, 2014

Starring: Robin Atkin Downes, Sean Astin, Kevin Durand

Summary: Based on Guillermo del Toro and Chuck Hogan's vampire novel trilogy, Dr. Ephraim Goodweather (Corey Stoll) and the Center for Disease Control Canary Team in New York City investigate a rapidly spreading virus that may be related to vampirism.

Creator: Guillermo del Toro and Chuck Hogan

Genre(s): Drama, Horror, Suspense, Science Fiction

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Season 1 Episodes

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S1:E13. The Master
Air Date: October 5, 2014
tbd
S1:E12. Last Rites
Air Date: September 28, 2014
tbd
S1:E11. The Third Rail
Air Date: September 21, 2014

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Metascore

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Mixed:

Negative:

Critic Reviews

100

Robert Bianco

Jul 10, 2014

Enter The Strain, which just may turn out to be the best-executed, most cleverly constructed and most universally enjoyable fright-monger of them all. Read full review

David Hiltbrand

Jul 14, 2014

Campy, creepy, and convincing, The Strain is oddly riveting, with a gleeful, pulpy momentum propelling the plot. Read full review

Bruce Miller

Jul 14, 2014

Ominous, creepy and utterly engaging, The Strain is like the perfect drive-in movie. Read full review

Melissa Maerz

Jul 3, 2014

This is cult-classic, midnight-movie horror, designed in meticulous, mythology-respecting detail for comic-book readers and fangirls and -boys. Read full review

Mike Hale

Jul 11, 2014

[The first episode is] a little dawdling and predictable and unsure of its tone, with cardboard characters and flat dialogue. Things pick up after that, though--once everyone’s been brought onstage and the story set in motion, the episodes have more snap, and the horror scenes go from pedestrian to actually creepy. Read full review

Brian Lowry

Jul 9, 2014

At times the portentous dialogue can sound hokey, but for the most part, the slick pilot and three subsequent episodes set the tone for a series with enough of a hook to get under one’s skin. Read full review

Maureen Ryan

Jul 9, 2014

Despite a great deal of visible effort, the first four episodes of The Strain never succeeded in making Corey Stoll's epidemiologist character even remotely compelling. Unfortunately most of the other characters are even more superficial and predictable, which made it nearly impossible to stay engaged when they began doing dumb things. The only real bright spot in The Strain is David Bradley. Read full review

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User Score

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7.5

User Reviews

pete1977

May 2, 2015

Love the series. This is the type of series that is entertaining and keeps the viewers on the edge of their seats. It is something different and not like the regular series on television. There are lots of shows that should have been cancelled after the first season. Shows like THE FLASH,Love the series. This is the type of series that is entertaining and keeps the viewers on the edge of their seats. It is something different and not like the regular series on television. There are lots of shows that should have been cancelled after the first season. Shows like THE FLASH, AGENTS OF SHIELD, THE LAST SHIP and many others. This show is my favorite show and can't wait for season 2.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

cesardpb10

Jul 14, 2014

Por favor, PI LO TA SO DE PROPORCIONES BÍBLICAS ES LO DE THE STRAIN, le tenía fé pero ESTO SUPERÓ TODAS MIS EXPECTATIVAS.
Yo creo que ya me voy a poner a leer en la que se basa la serie porque POR FAVORE, la curiosidad me está matando.

3 of 6 users found this helpful33

chaznet

Jul 13, 2014

Very entertaining, an extended summer blockbuster.

It's good they get the CDC stuff out of the way in the first episode, it's not very authentic in many obvious ways -- but so what, no need for the bio-hazard suits after episode 1 ;-) Hopefully they'll wind up the story line in 1Very entertaining, an extended summer blockbuster.

It's good they get the CDC stuff out of the way in the first episode, it's not very authentic in many obvious ways -- but so what, no need for the bio-hazard suits after episode 1 ;-)

Hopefully they'll wind up the story line in 1 season, or do 1 season for each book, and not drag it out -- it could easily turn into another Walking Dead, with luck it won't.… Expand

14 of 20 users found this helpful146

Etoby

Oct 9, 2014

The show doesn't provide a great amount of depth or thought provoking story lines. It is just fun to watch. Anything with vampires and a potential apocalypse starts off with a win/win. Add in some interesting characters and a decent plot and you have an entertaining show. This isn't aThe show doesn't provide a great amount of depth or thought provoking story lines. It is just fun to watch. Anything with vampires and a potential apocalypse starts off with a win/win. Add in some interesting characters and a decent plot and you have an entertaining show. This isn't a show where the next day you necessarily talk to other people about the episode and how intriguing it was, and what will happen next. It is a more "in the moment" show where it is just fun to watch because they keep the momentum fairly fast paced. Was a little disappointed at the look of The Master...kind of looks like a large Vampire Amphibian hybrid.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

FleshWorld

Aug 13, 2014

The show is canpy as hell and fun but I fear that the ultimate reveal will be less interesting that I've been hoping for. The lead actor who played one of the best characters on house of cards is really the only thing that is holding the show together. Also I should say that GuillermoThe show is canpy as hell and fun but I fear that the ultimate reveal will be less interesting that I've been hoping for. The lead actor who played one of the best characters on house of cards is really the only thing that is holding the show together. Also I should say that Guillermo Deltoro's creatures are tremendous.… Expand

1 of 4 users found this helpful13

mbeckford

Sep 17, 2014

I can't believe I am giving three stars to a Guillermo Del Toro-backed show. I am a fan of all of his movies and enjoyed the first book in the trilogy (the second and third were essentially action movie scripts that don't translate well to the book medium). But the book wasn't adaptedI can't believe I am giving three stars to a Guillermo Del Toro-backed show. I am a fan of all of his movies and enjoyed the first book in the trilogy (the second and third were essentially action movie scripts that don't translate well to the book medium). But the book wasn't adapted skillfully to TV ... it doesn't hold the chills and intrigue that the book provided with its mystery of the silent airplane and mysterious virus slowly unveiled.

The special effects range from "very cool" to "very cheesy." The head vampire's, or "Master's," coffin and his swirling cape are well done, and so is the scene where a main character "vamp" that begins an episode as he literally puts on his face. The big reveal of the face of the master in episode 8 is anti-climactic and absurd. If you remember "bat boy" from the now defunct Weekly World News, it's what he would look like if he were real and older (for kicks, google the image and see if I'm right).

The vampire "biology" is cool in principle (as in the book) but is made slightly ludicrous with the mediocre effects that make the long stinger protrusion more phallic than threatening. Del Toro does a better job in Blade 2 where he started playing around with the idea. The best "vampire acting" so far is a semi-major character that changes in episode 10. This episode has a "Walking Dead" feel to it and as such is one of the better ones.

If you watch this as a campy throw-back to some of the creepy shows of the 70's/80's/90's ('Salem's Lot comes to mind) you will enjoy it more. This was best portrayed in an early episode with a French girl that was a survivor from the airplane who returns home. The scene where she reunites with her father will likely become "that scene freaked me out!" for many teens (Danny Glick scratching at his brother's 2nd story window in the mist was that scene for me in 'Salem's Lot).

If the series is renewed it could get very monotonous as it follows the next two books. Vampires "snake-biting" and chasing our protagonists will get dull and old very quickly. Ultimately, the show will need to have some creativity weaved into it to make it entertaining over the long haul.… Expand

0 of 1 users found this helpful01

Riddler68

Aug 19, 2015

**** terrible. I've been looking forward to this but in the end it's just the worst series I've ever watched. It has no logical aspect, it seems like all the characters there are kind of immune to intelligence, like seriously [SPOILER ALERT] if you would be spitting blood, losing your**** terrible. I've been looking forward to this but in the end it's just the worst series I've ever watched. It has no logical aspect, it seems like all the characters there are kind of immune to intelligence, like seriously [SPOILER ALERT] if you would be spitting blood, losing your genitals and hair wouldn't you **** run to the hospital or something? Like what the **** and don't tell it's the voice thats telling them not to do so, all 3 or 4 of these survivers from the plane seemed not to be possesed at the beginning and they've been spitting blood... and not just that this women that found her man chained in the shack is **** mentally challanged.... ah look, the movie isn't worth any second of your life so don't waste time with it.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

SEE ALL 99 REVIEWS

Seasons & Episodes

70

Series Overview
Season 4

tbd
- Season 4 Overview
  Air Date: July 16, 2017
Season 3

62
- Season 3 Overview
  Air Date: August 28, 2016
Season 2

66
- Season 2 Overview
  Air Date: July 12, 2015
Season 1

72
- Season 1 Overview
  Air Date: July 13, 2014
- tbd
  S1:E13. The Master
  Air Date: October 5, 2014
- tbd
  S1:E12. Last Rites
  Air Date: September 28, 2014
- tbd
  S1:E11. The Third Rail
  Air Date: September 21, 2014
- tbd
  S1:E10. Loved Ones
  Air Date: September 14, 2014
- tbd
  S1:E9. The Disappeared
  Air Date: September 7, 2014
- tbd
  S1:E8. Creatures of the Night
  Air Date: August 31, 2014
- tbd
  S1:E7. For Services Rendered
  Air Date: August 24, 2014
- tbd
  S1:E6. Occultation
  Air Date: August 17, 2014
- tbd
  S1:E5. Runaways
  Air Date: August 10, 2014
- tbd
  S1:E4. It's Not for Everyone
  Air Date: August 3, 2014
- tbd
  S1:E3. Gone Smooth
  Air Date: July 27, 2014
- tbd
  S1:E2. The Box
  Air Date: July 20, 2014
- tbd
  S1:E1. Night Zero
  Air Date: July 13, 2014