From the opening minutes, it’s easy to see that Preacher has found a fitting home on AMC.
The last few years of programming has raked in viewers, from fans of dramas like Mad Men, Breaking Bad, Better Call Saul and Halt and Catch Fire to graphic novel loyalists who tune in seasonally for The Walking Dead, Fear The Walking Dead, and now Preacher. And this is thanks to the writing-producing buddy team of Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg, with help from Breaking Bad producer Sam Catlin.
Anyway, Preacher centers around Jesse Custer (Dominic Cooper), a disillusioned preacher in the small Texas town of Annville, who returned to town to fulfill a promise he made to his preacher father – that he’d follow in his footsteps and take over the church – All Saints Congressional. But things aren’t going as planned. The church AC is busted, he fumbles with sermons, and the congregants would rather be barbecuing outside after the sermon or just not in church at all. To complicate things, Jesse’s ex Tulip O’Hare (Ruth Negga) is back in town and she’s planning a heist to end all heists – at least in Texan terms. Meanwhile, something has broken loose in outer space and exploded several religious figures around the globe after trying to possess them … and a roguish alcoholic Irish vampire named Cassidy (Joseph Gilgun) has literally dropped into town. To say any more about the plot points of the pilot would give away some of the best moments.
As someone who’s only read the first volume of Garth Ennis’ graphic novel series within the last several, I couldn’t be more pleased with the results of the pilot. The graphic novels are known for, to say the least, going there and beyond – in terms of tone, language, and violence. The show, so far, has a similar tone – a little Tarantino, a little Breaking Bad, and a little Western – and the language is toned down considerably. But the violence is another story. Considering what some shows can get away with in terms of violence in this day and age, Preacher does wonders with the three fight scenes in the episode, from Tulip’s claustrophobic fight in the back of a car to Cassidy’s pitched several-on-one fight in a party plane lounge to Jesse’s bar fight against Donny (Derek Wilson) and his Civil War reenactor friends.
Regarding the pilot as a whole, it’s competently directed by Rogen and Goldberg, and Bill Pope’s cinematography can’t be beat. There’s one teensy indulgent moment of slo-mo, but it helps to illuminate Jesse’s personality. The humor, albeit on the crude side here and there, is fittingly dark. As for the rest of the introductions, Tulip is clearly a badass not to be trifled with, Eugene (Ian Colletti) – Sheriff Root’s (W. Earl Brown) disfigured son – is a hurting sweetheart, and Joseph Gilgun is perfectly cast as Cassidy. It helps that I caught screenings of the pilot two days in a row, followed by Q&As with the cast and crew – and Gilgun is as madcap as Cassidy, no bones about it.
Now, I’m not going to be giving away any likely plot points for the rest of the 10-episode season, but believe me when I say that Preacher‘s pilot has barely scratched the surface with how messed up things will be getting for Jesse, Tulip, and Cassidy in Annville.
Preacher airs Sunday nights on AMC at 10 PM EST and returns on June 5th.
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