The upcoming television series based on the groundbreaking comic-book series Preacher will premiere on AMC in 2016, thanks to a full-season order from the network.
Executive producer Seth Rogen made the announcement regarding the long-awaited series this week, and accompanied the news with the first, official poster for the series. (You can view the full poster at the end of this article.)
The network that gave the world Breaking Bad and The Walking Dead has ordered an initial ten episodes of Preacher, which will be a joint production of Sony Pictures Television and AMC Studios. Future season orders will depend on the success of the debut season.
The Preacher comic-book series followed a small-town Texas preacher named Jesse Custer, who was on the verge of losing his faith, only to suddenly become the reluctant host of a powerful entity that gives him the “Word of God” — the ability to make anyone obey his spoken commands. Joined by his ex-girlfriend Tulip and his drug-addled, rowdy vampire pal Cassidy, the trio set off on a mission to find God and make him pay for everything going wrong on Earth.
The series, which was written by Garth Ennis and illustrated by Steve Dillon, was published in the late ’90s and has been the subject of numerous adaptation attempts over the years, on both the big screen and television. However, the scope of the long-running saga and its irreverent tone have frequently caused projects to stall out in development.
The upcoming AMC series casts Dominic Cooper as Jesse Custer, with Joseph Gilgun as Cassidy, Ruth Negga as Tulip, Ian Colletti as “Arseface,” and W. Earl Brown as Sheriff Hugo Root. Lucy Griffiths will play an original character created for the series named Emily Woodrow, and Elizabeth Perkins will play Vyla Quinncannon, a semi-original character who serves as an amalgam of several characters from the comic.
“We started reading the comic when it first came out in the ’90s,” said Rogen and co-producer Evan Goldberg in a statement accompanying the announcement. “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.”
Showrunner Sam Catlin, who penned the pilot episode of the series, also issued a statement about AMC ordering a season of Preacher.
“Couldn’t be more happy with Sony/AMC’s decision to bring Garth’s amazing Preacher to television,” he said. “Can’t wait to spend some quality time with vampires, psychopaths, rednecks, and God.”
