It was back in May when we last received word on the series adaptation of Garth Ennis’ Preacher, which had started and subsequently wrapped up production of its pilot episode for AMC earlier this year. Executive producer Seth Rogen gave us our first glimpse at the comic-based modern fantasy early on, along with our first look at Dominic Cooper on set as the series lead, Jesse Custer. Since then, things have been relatively quiet…until today that is.
AMC has just confirmed that Preacher has been ordered to series, with a ten episode first season being slated for some time in 2016! The official poster art for the series can be seen below.
Published between 1995 and 2000, Preacher is the epic, brutal and exceedingly bizarre story of Jesse Custer, a small town Texas preacher who, nearly at his faith’s end, finds himself merged with a supernatural entity, Genesis, birthed from both an angel and a demon. Imbued with the ‘word of God’; the ability to make anyone obey his commands. Jesse then hits the road, reunited with his ex-girlfriend, Tulip, and joined by a rowdy Irish vampire, Cassidy, to track down God himself and force him to explain why he abandoned his duties in Heaven.
“We started reading the comic when it first came out in the ‘90s,” says Rogen and fellow executive producer/co-writer Evan Goldberg. “In many ways Garth’s sense of drama and comedy and Steve Dillon’s visual aesthetic helped form our style, and the idea that we are actually bringing ‘Preacher’ to life is a dream come true. This is the craziest thing ever and we can’t wait to move forward and work our asses off to make it the best it can be.”
Sam Caitlin, series showrunner, added; “Couldn’t be more happy with Sony/AMC’s decision to bring Garth’s amazing ‘Preacher’ to television. Can’t wait to spend some quality time with vampires, psychopaths, rednecks and God.”
‘Psychopaths, rednecks and God’, and that aggregation of weird (if it’s to be believed) is but the tip of the iceberg that is the Preacher mythos. Cooper leads the cast that also includes Joseph Gilgun as Cassidy, an Irish vampire, Ruth Negga as his gun-toting ex-girlfriend Tulip, Colletti as the kindhearted yet startling Arseface, W. Earl Brown as his father Sheriff Hugo Root, Lucy Griffiths as Emily Woodrow, an original character in the series and love interest of Jesse’s, and Elizabeth Perkins as Vyla Quinncannon, the owner of the local slaughterhouse and a semi-original character.
A Sony Pictures Television and AMC Studios co-production, “Preacher” will be produced by Evan Goldberg and Seth Rogen through their Point Grey banner, along with Neal Moritz’s Original Film. The pilot was written by Sam Catlin who will serve as the showrunner. As of today, Preacher will premiere some time in 2016.
As always, stay plugged in to SE for more Comic Nook News as it develops.