When it comes to genre television, there haven't been many TV shows over the past decade that have kept me hooked. I watch TV for a living, so color me jaded.
When I think of big creative swings in the television realm, shows like Twin Peaks, Severance and The Boys immediately come to mind. That third title I just mentioned is the only one in that trio that is an adaptation -- taking inspiration from the ultraviolent superhero comic book series by Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson.
Before The Boys, two titles inspired by Ennis's comic book work hit the small screen: the short-lived Constantine and the gloriously bonkers Preacher, which is now streaming on Netflix (until Aug. 18) and AMC Plus.
AMC took a crazy big swing with Preacher, tapping series creator Sam Catlin (Breaking Bad) to showrun the project with the help of producing duo Evan Goldberg and Seth Rogen. In May of 2016, the first of the show's four seasons premiered on the small screen and proceeded to kick the TV world right upside the face -- but, like, in the best way.
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Ruth Negga, Dominic Cooper and Joseph Gilgun star in Preacher. AMC Network
Preacher follows Jesse Custer (played by Dominic Cooper), a down-on-his-luck Texas priest with a sinister past. He is given a new purpose when a supernatural force known as Genesis inhabits his body, granting him the Word of God -- a superpower that, when summoned, makes anyone follow his command.
Fueled by an enduring crisis of faith and his newfound gift, Jesse finds himself on a mission to find God, who just up and left heaven, and bring him to justice. He can't do it alone, though. Joining him on this bizarre road trip adventure is Tulip O'Hare (Ruth Negga), his formidable ex-girlfriend, and a wise-cracking, chain-smoking, hard-drinking vampire named Cassidy (Joseph Gilgun).
Add in a collection of untrustworthy angels, pesky demons, that aforementioned deadbeat God and a group of murderous zealots, and you've got yourself one delightfully unhinged TV show.
Like The Boys, Preacher isn't directly categorized as a horror series. But it has earned its gruesome flowers. It pivots from one genre to another regularly -- swiftly moving from bloody vampire kill sequence to comedic road trip banter to some heavy apocalyptic, theological drama.
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