News

The Doctor! Guillermo del Toro! Vampire pilot for FX! Who Wouldn’T be all over this story? We’ve actually already told you a little about the del Toro vampire pilot The Strain, based on the trilogy of books he co-authored with Chuck Hogan (Prince of Thieves). If picked up, the showrunner would be our beloved Carlton Cuse (Lost, Bates Motel).

So, as the headline blares, the newest cast member is (one of) the Doctor(s). This particular Doctor is the newest to us, though I suspect he’s one of the oldest. It’s John Hurt, reuniting with his Hellboy director del Toro. Hurt’s castmates in include Corey Stoll (The Bourne Legacy, Midnight in Paris), Mia Maestro (Nadia in Alias) and Kevin Durand (Keamy in Lost). Here’s the press release, which includes a synopsis of the show:

FX Casts Oscar(R)-Nominated Actor John Hurt In “The Strain...

LONDON -- On the eve of BBC4's second birthday and after significant improvements in its audience figures during the past year, the digital channel will get a 33% boost in its programming budget, bringing it to £41 million ($77.5 million) a year, the BBC said Tuesday. The increased budget will be used to target several successful programming areas at the channel, including drama, factual and comedy. BBC4 controller Roly Keating said he wants to replicate successes like The Alan Clark Diaries, starring John Hurt, that attracted an average of 442,000 viewers across the six parts, the highest-ever viewing figures for the channel since it launched March 2, 2002. In new factual programming, the BBC said the template for new programs would be the six-part series The National Trust, which takes a look at several different properties held by the Trust, including a nudist beach in southwest England. The series averaged 352,000 viewers across the six parts.