Seth Rogen's Controversial Neo-Western TV Series With Four Seasons Deserves Another Look

One of the great tragedies of the streaming era and the proliferation of shows and movies available with the press of a button is that sometimes great shows are nearly forgotten. One show that seems to have disappeared into the ether is the AMC series "Preacher," developed by Sam Catlin, Evan Goldberg, and Seth Rogen and based on the comic book series by Garth Ennis and Steve Dillon. Goldberg and Rogen would later go on to help develop and produce another Ennis comic, "The Boys," which has become a wildly successful franchise for Prime Video. So where's the love for "Preacher," which had four seasons before coming to an end? 

While the first season of "Preacher" was pretty widely appreciated, the show got weirder and darker in subsequent seasons and the final bow was a bit grim, which may have alienated some audiences back in 2019. Since then, shows like "The Boys" have helped audiences adjust to bleak comic book weirdness, so maybe it's time to give "Preacher" another look. 

"Preacher" shares a penchant for wild violence and gross-out humor with "The Boys," but it's a totally unique story about Texas preacher Jesse Custer (Dominic Cooper), who is given the literal Voice of God and the power to command anyone to do anything. Since Jesse's also a former thief and general troublemaker, it's all but guaranteed that he's going to use his new powers for evil. Add in his vampiric best friend Cassidy (Joseph Gilgun) and explosives-loving situationship Tulip (Ruth Negga), some angels hunting him down, and the many clones of Jesus, and you get one heck of a series. 

Because "Preacher" and "The Boys" both come from the somewhat warped mind of Garth Ennis, there are some similarities in tone and humor, but "Preacher" is very much its own thing and is worth checking out. "Preacher" is a bizarre neo-Western that delves deeply into matters of faith and justice while also having a character named Arseface (Ian Colletti). "Preacher" takes viewers to heaven and hell (quite literally) over the course of its four seasons, and while it definitely gets messy, the characters are well worth sticking around for. Dominic Cooper, Ruth Negga, and Joseph Gilgun are all phenomenal as Jesse, Tulip, and Cassidy, respectively, and their onscreen chemistry is a blast to watch. 

Look, I haven't watched the entirety of "Preacher" since the series finale aired, but the season 2 opening sequence above involving a car chase with police set to "Come on Eileen" by Dexy's Midnight Runners still lives rent-free in my head, and I watch it every so often just to feel a little carefree, reckless joy. 

"Preacher" is available to stream on AMC+.