'The Strain' season 4 air date, spoilers: Nuclear fallout to pose bigger threat in show's final year

The final episode of "The Strain" season 3 has left New York and quite possibly the rest of world in such a devastated state that humanity's salvation may no longer be in the cards when the vampire-apocalypse drama enters its fourth and final year in 2017.

All hope seems lost after Zach's (Max Charles) vengeful rebellion against his father Eph (Corey Stoll) resulted in the detonation of an atomic bomb that plunged New York in complete ruin. This ultimately threw a wedge on Setrakian (David Bradley) and crew's plan of sinking the Master in the middle of the ocean for eternity,

In a recent interview with TV Insider following the explosive season 3 finale, executive producer Carlton Cuse hinted that while "The Strain's" narrative has since taken on a life of its own separate from its source material, season 4 will share "some fundamental similarities" with "The Strain" trilogy written by Guillermo del Toro and Chuck Hogan.

"The third book in the trilogy takes place in sort of a post-apocalyptic nuclear winter," Cuse said. He refused to reveal further so as not to spoil the upcoming season, but added that the final installment of "The Strain" will pit its characters against the combined threats of a strigoi invasion and a "profoundly different world."

Now that all attempted plans of subduing the Master have failed up, it looks like the Good Guy crew will be finding themselves back in square one when "The Strain" season 4 rolls around.

In another interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Cuse said, "Heading into the final season of the show it completely resets the stakes." He also acknowledged that their show has never been one to let its characters live happily ever after. It's the potential of a dramatic endpoint for each character that has attracted him to "The Strain" from the very beginning.

"It gives you the chance to do stuff as a storyteller and deliver a narrative that I think is really exciting," Cuse stated.

The two most noteworthy characters in the show right now are Zach and Palmer (Jonathan Hyde). Has Zach really turned to the dark side for good, and will there be truth to the speculations that he could ultimately become the Master's vessel? And how long can Palmer, the Master's current vessel, last?

"The Strain" season 4 is expected to air anytime between August and September next year.