Midway through the premiere season of AMC’s Preacher, some of us had begun to have minor concerns that the series would not see a second season. Ratings had gotten off to a solid start, but up against a monster season of Game of Thrones, overnight ratings had also begun to soften week-to-week. AMC, however, has been very good about renewing low-rated but critically well-received series’ like Breaking Bad or even promising series like Halt and Catch Fire, which delivered on that promise in season two.
Preacher was a special case, however. Seth Rogen, Evan Goldberg, and Sam Catlin had adapted what was essentially a series-long road trip in such a way as to keep it grounded in the small town of Annville, Texas. They’d done so because their television budget was limited, and it was the only way to stay under budget. The idea was to keep it in Annville and write a prequel of sorts to the events of Garth Ennis’ comic series. Given the added expense of a second season, I assume AMC wanted to wait around to ensure that ratings justified the renewal.
Apparently, they did, as AMC has picked up the series for a second season. AMC is so keen on Preacher, in fact, that the second season has been expanded from a 10-episode to a 13-episode season. It’s slated to air sometime in 2017. While overnight ratings haven’t been as stellar as the pilot, Preacher is still one of the most watched cable series on DVRs, and in live+3 ratings, it’s currently the No. 2 series on cable behind only Game of Thrones. Without Game of Thrones competition for the rest of the summer, that should only increase. As the story begins to snowball toward the events of the comics, it should also begin to attract more viewers this summer.
To help it along, AMC will be airing a catch-up marathon this Thursday night, starting at 9 p.m. and running until 2:30 a.m. The sixth episode of the season will air in its regular slot on Thursday.
