While Guillermo del Toro only recently wrapped production on the pilot for his potential FX series The Strain, the network apparently really liked what they saw. FX announced today that it has ordered a full 13-episode first season of The Strain, which will debut on the network in July 2014. The ambitious series is based on the trilogy of novels by del Toro and Chuck Hogan and centers on a team of scientists who wage war against an ancient strain of virus that confers vampirism, along with those it infects. The stellar cast includes Corey Stoll, John Hurt, Mia Maestro, Sean Astin, and Kevin Durand, and Lost co-showrunner Carlton Cuse is onboard to act as showrunner while del Toro will remain involved as an executive producer.

Hit the jump for more info on this exciting new horror series.

Del Toro previously revealed to us that they were writing the entire first season of The Strain before production began on the pilot, and he has not been shy about the close-ended nature of the series. Indeed, FX CEO John Landgraf said The Strain will likely end up with somewhere between 39 and 65 episodes, which means the show will probably run for five seasons at a maximum. Filming on the rest of the first season will begin later this month in Toronto while del Toro moves into prepping to shoot his next feature film, Crimson Peak.

Read the full press release below: