The Strain is an American vampire horror media franchise created by Guillermo del Toro and Chuck Hogan.

Del Toro first envisioned the story line as a television series, but was unable to find a broadcaster who was interested.

The Strain is a limited comic book series written by David Lapham, with artist Mike Huddleston.

In 2012 it was announced that FX had ordered a pilot episode of The Strain with the intention of creating a limited television series based on the books.

[6] Del Toro further commented that he planned to also direct the pilot episode, with a full season airing in 2014 if the show was picked up.