Plot Synopsis

Based on the vampire novel trilogy of the same title, THE STRAIN centers on Dr. Ephraim 'Eph' Goodweather, the head of the Center for Disease Control (CDC) Canary Team in New York City, whose team is called to investigate Regis flight 753, which landed in NYC with everyone on board dead. As the CDC team investigates what looks like a mysterious viral outbreak, Harlem pawnbroker Abraham Setrakian races to the airport, convinced that it might be the beginning of something infinitely more sinister. The virus starts to show the hallmarks of an ancient and evil strain of vampirism, and, as the strain spreads, Eph, his team, and an assembly of everyday New Yorkers wage war for the fate of humanity itself. Eph is an empirical obsessive man who gets A's at his job, but flunks real life -- he's trying to repair his broken marriage and win his family back. His CDC team includes: Nora Martinez, an intelligent and driven biochemist, who is in love with Eph, but understands Eph is trying to fix his relationship with his wife, Kelly, and encourages him to be a part of the life of his son, Zack; and Jim Kent, who makes a poor decision early on that puts everything into jeopardy, because his wife, Sylvia, is dying from cancer and he tries to save her life. Meanwhile, Setrakian, an eighty year old with the vigor of a younger man, has spent his life waiting and preparing for another opportunity to kill the Master, after failing to do so in his early teenage years during his internment at a Nazi concentration camp. In addition to co-authoring "The Strain" trilogy of books, Guillermo del Toro co-wrote the pilot script, which he also directed. THE STRAIN premiered on Sunday, July 13, 2014 at 10pm ET/PT with a 100-minute series opener. In the Season 1 finale, "The Master," Eph and Fet recon for an all-out assault that Setrakian assures them will finally kill the Master. Meanwhile, Gus aligns himself with a strange new force. Seven weeks before the finale -- on Tuesday, August 19, 2014 -- FX announced that it ordered a 13-episode second season of THE STRAIN, scheduled to debut in the summer of 2015. THE STRAIN returned for it second season on Sunday, July 12, 2015 at 10pm ET/PT on FX with a 90-minute season opener. The transformation has begun. It can no longer be denied -- New York City is rapidly falling to an evil epidemic, and no one is coming to its rescue. Its citizens must fight or die. Dr. Ephraim Goodweather and his unlikely allies tried to take down the embodiment of this evil -- the Master -- and failed. Now Eph and Dr. Nora Martinez concentrate on creating a biological weapon to wipe out the creatures, while Abraham Setrakian searches for an ancient book he hopes will reveal the strigoi's entire history... and possibly a way to kill them. Meanwhile, the Master is out for revenge, sending new and even more terrifying breeds of bloodthirsty creatures after our team. They need to find a way to defeat him before the transformation has become widespread, irreparable...before they become monsters themselves. Season 3 of THE STRAIN premiered on Sunday, August 28, 2016 at 10pm ET/PT on TX. As Season 3 begins, New York City is a battleground. Written off by the federal government, the people of New York City must fight for survival on their own. The question is who will win? Humans or strigoi? The heroes win victories, but are not winning the war. Beset by personal conflicts -- betrayal, disappointment, paranoia -- the group is splintering. Meanwhile, the Master is close to executing an irreversible transformation of the world. Is there still hope to save the city and humanity? The fourth and final season of THE STRAIN premiered on Sunday, July 16, 2017 at 10pm ET/PT on FX. As Season 4 begins, nine months have passed. The world has fallen into darkness, and the strigoi are in control. The explosion at the end of season three triggered a global nuclear apocalypse. The resulting nuclear winter liberated the strigoi, allowing them to move about during daytime, and allowing the Master to establish a totalitarian regime. Preying on the fears of the populace, the Master and his minions have created an unsettling alliance in "The Partnership." The majority of humans are now working for the strigoi, operating with a single understanding -- collaborate or die. With the world in disarray and our heroes disbanded, each of them will have to overcome personal hardship and defy death for even the smallest chance at fighting back... All the while, the Master reigns supreme, furthering his scheme for the end of the world as we know it. In the face of annihilation...do these heroes have what it takes to save humankind?
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On Sunday, September 17, 2017 at 10pm ET/PT, FX premiered the series finale of THE STRAIN. In the series ender, "The Last Stand," Quinlan devises a desperate plan, but the costs are enormous. Eph wrestles with his conscience, Fet undertakes a suicide mission, and Dutch and Gus dig in for battle as humankind makes its final stand against the Master and his Strain.