AMC is doubling down on Texas badass Jesse Custer, giving a series order to Preacher – the TV series adaptation of Garth Ennis and Steve Dillon’s 1990s Vertigo comic series. Executive producer Seth Rogen tweeted the news out earlier today:
Preacher is coming to AMC! @evandgoldberg @SamCatlin123! The beginning is nigh!!! pic.twitter.com/xVgqYrkEK9
— Seth Rogen (@Sethrogen) September 9, 2015
Developed for television by Rogen and Evan Goldberg (This Is the End, Superbad, Neighbors) and showrunner Sam Catlin (Breaking Bad), Preacher stars Dominic Cooper (Agent Carter) and Ruth Negga (Marvel’s Agents of SHIELD) as Jesse Custer, an ex-preacher with extraordinary powers on a quest to track down God, and his gun-toting girlfriend Tulip. The rest of the cast includes Joseph Gilgun as an Irish vampire named Cassidy, Ian Colletti as “Arseface,” and True Blood’s Lucy Griffiths as Emily Woodrow, a church organist and Jesse’s loyal right hand.
“Garth Ennis’ Preacher is, above all, about great characters – something we look for in all of our series,” said Joel Stillerman, president of original programming and development for AMC and SundanceTV in a statement. “The fact that it is also darkly funny, has some great supernatural elements, and takes us on an incredible adventure is just the icing on the cake. The incredible creative team behind this show – led by Seth Rogen, Evan Goldberg, Sam Catlin and Neal Moritz – made a pilot that completely blew us away, and we know the series will satisfy and surprise fans of the comics, and captivate fans of great TV everywhere.”
“We started reading the comic when it first came out in the ‘90s,” said Rogen and 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 Catlin 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.”
AMC has ordered 10 one-hour episodes, with an expected premiere date in mid-2016.
