Since getting PlayStation Vue, I’ve been a lot more interested in catching up on new shows. From time to time, I’m going to check in with the creators of some of my favorite shows here on PlayStation.Blog — starting with The Strain, an unusual take on the vampire mythos created by Guillermo del Toro and Chuck Hogan that was one of my favorites in 2015.
To mark this Sunday’s season three premiere, I spoke with Chuck Hogan, co-creator, to learn more about the show’s origins and where we’re headed in season three. Enjoy!
PlayStation.Blog: What inspired the original concept of a worldwide vampire apocalypse?
Chuck Hogan: It was Guillermo’s original vision. We started working on this in 2006, before the “Twilight” phenomenon and the current apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic trend. We wanted to set a story against the potential fall of humanity.
PSB: And the vampires themselves — or strigoi — couldn’t be further from the debonair depictions stretching back to Dracula. What sparked that concept?
CH: Again, this was Guillermo’s original concept, and the one that excited me the most. We’ve taken the vampire myth back to its pre-Dracula origins. These are brutal, nasty creatures that live in the dirt.
PSB: The Strain began as a series of novels — but I was surprised to learn that it was originally intended as a TV series all along?
CH: Guillermo originally pitched it as a show, but the networks in the mid-2000’s didn’t get it at all. He decided to do it the way he wanted to, and we met and started working together. The novel version has evolved quite a bit due to many factors, primarily because television is a completely different medium. The books are there for us to borrow from, but not to follow.
PSB: Did you encounter any difficulties in adapting from the page to the screen?
CH: Creative challenges occur daily, but few are major or require capitulation. We have terrific partners in FX. I feel that any problems we’ve encountered in the storytelling have been turned into opportunities.
PSB: At the end of season two, the situation was looking dire — where will Season 3 take us?
CH: Those shockwaves continue to be felt across the season. We pick up about two weeks later, as the plague is deeply entrenched in New York City. It’s now-or-never time for our heroes.
PSB: Do you play games? What do you think of them as an emerging narrative medium?
CH: I wish I had more time to play. Uncharted 4 is sitting next to my PS4, just waiting for me to dive in.
PSB: del Toro has a lot of interest in games. I’m curious if you’re interested in working in the gaming medium?
CH: I’m interested in storytelling at every level, having written novels, TV shows, and movies. I would love to add videogames to that list. I’m adapting one for film now, and the process has definitely got me thinking in terms of game story.
Season 3 of The Strain premieres August 28 on FX. Watch on PlayStation Vue this Sunday starting at 10/9c. The Strain Season Pass is available now at PlayStation Store — own every episode the day after it airs.
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