AMC’s Preacher adaptation — which is powered by Seth Rogen, Evan Goldberg and Sam Catlin (Breaking Bad) — seems poised to deliver everything that you loved about the Garth Ennis comic book. But before we all get the chance to experience the show’s weird and twisted vision for ourselves, let’s take a gander at some of the folks you’ll meet along the way.
Jesse Custer
Custer (Dominic Cooper) is a preacher with a dark past. When he becomes imbued with a power that he can’t quite yet understand, Custer makes it his mission to find God… literally. Custer is a hard drinking, tough man of God, and the son of a U.S. Marine — he’s unlike any other holy man that you’ve ever seen before. Jesse’s demons force him into the bottle, and when we meet the preacher, he’s leading the congregation in a small, depraved Texas town. After Jesse confronts the maladies in the town, he becomes a superpowered entity. Then, his true journey begins.
As for his dark past, let’s just say that he has some family issues.
Tulip O’Hare
Tulip (Ruth Negga) is Jesse’s former girlfriend, and she holds a bit of a grudge against the preacher. With a life of crime in her past, Tulip’s a fully-fledged killer for hire when we first meet her. How she got there is a bit of a tangled web of deception and deadly intentions. Yet Tulip can hold her own against the best of them.
When Jesse and Tulip reunite, it’ll take more than just “I’m sorry” to bring them back together. Can Tulip forgive Jesse, and will their rocky relationship get in the way of their ultimate objective?
Cassidy
If Tulip is the new standard for tough female leads, then consider Cassidy (Joseph Gilgun) as the high-water mark for comedic sidekicks. Cassidy is more than just a sidekick, though, as he plays an integral part of the trio’s journey. Jesse and Tulip will rely on their drunken, debauched companion on more than one occasion, but their relationship with the Irish fellow doesn’t get off to a great start. Worth noting: Jesse is not the only one with powers.
Hugo Root
Sheriff Hugo Root (W. Earl Brown) is not a nice man. The father of Arseface, Root is a redneck lawman and an ardent racist. Root is in the wrong place at the wrong time when he first comes across Jesse and his compatriots, and the incident leads Root on a quest to find — and put down — Jesse and his friends. An alcoholic bastard of a man, Root is one of the primary antagonists early in the Preacher narrative as he stands in Jesse’s way.
Arseface
As mentioned above, Arseface (Ian Coletti) is the son of sheriff Hugo Root, and he is also the product of a f*cked up childhood. Arseface becomes aptly named when a suicide attempt goes wrong. A bullied and beaten kid, Arseface then attempts to become a positive influence in his miserable father’s life — to no avail.
DeBlanc & Fiore
When a cataclysmic event rocks the heavens, angels DeBlanc and Fiore (Anatol Yusef, Tom Brooke) are sent from the throne to Earth. Their primary purpose: Investigate the power that Jesse was gifted (cursed?) with. Along the way, DeBlanc and Fiore see their seemingly simple plans go haywire, and they’ll have to do everything within their power to fit into their new, earthly surroundings while attempting to not fall victim to temptation.
To see how all these warped souls fit together in one show, catch the long-awaited series premiere of ‘Preacher’ on AMC May 22, at 10 p.m./9 p.m. central.
