WonderCon 2016: First Impressions of Preacher; Cast & Showrunner Q&A
Ted Hentschke
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I’m not exaggerating when I say that “Preacher” is the reason I came to WonderCon this year. I’ve been waiting for this series since I was fifteen, and the years have been too cruel and full of whispers and false promises. When I saw that there would be a screening of the pilot and a chance to meet with the stars and showrunner, I honestly didn’t quite believe it. It wasn’t until AMC reached out to me that I knew this was the real deal.
Let me tell you… I have seen the promised land, and it is glorious. The screening was a hive buzzing with eager fans, and by the time the credits rolled, it was a tsunami of hype. Official reviews are still embargoed pending an official release with some reshoots, but I can say that the fan reaction (myself included) was overwhelming. It’s raw, gritty, dark, and with a playful sense of sacrilege that would make Garth Ennis proud.
I got to sit down with showrunner Sam Catlin and stars Dominic Cooper (Jesse Custer) and Ruth Negga (Tulip O’Hare) after the screening. My fanboy soul was in full Bankai, and Sam Catlin was first up to bat to give me the scoop.
Sam: When I was first delivered Preacher and asked to turn it into a show, my reaction was, “Are you fucking kidding me?” I think that’s how a lot of fans felt, and why it failed to launch so many times. I had the privilege of reading the script Sam Mendes wanted to work with, which was great, but it was a 120-page script. It could never capture the feel of Preacher. That’s what’s so great about TV now. You can make what’s essentially a 68-hour movie. So we took a step back and asked ourselves where we want this story to start. You’ve got a preacher who’s kind of lost his faith who suddenly is granted this awesome power. Okay, we can work with that. Once we identified how we wanted to start telling the story, we figured out what we wanted to tell in a season. We had an image of where we wanted it to end to make the perfect season, and the rest fell into place.
He went on to elaborate why he thought now was the time for “Preacher” to happen.
Sam: We’re in a golden age of television. People think there are standards and rules, but they don’t get that the man behind the curtain making up those rules is just some people making shit up as they go along. You’ve got shows like Breaking Bad, Game of Thrones, and The Walking Dead that prove that people don’t need a neat little package with a good guy tied up in a bow. People like raw and gritty, but also violent and nasty. You just can’t tell Preacher without it being violent and nasty. So we went into this with the mentality that we’d just do what we wanted, push the envelope until someone told us to stop. Funny thing is, no one has told us to stop. So why would we?
After seeing the first episode, I can definitely confirm that they don’t shy away from some of the more controversial elements. Without talking about specifics, I’ll say it captures the spirit of Preacher without directly copying the events. Lead actor Dominic Cooper, who’s frankly the most charming and likable actor I’ve met, had some more to say on the topic.
Dominic: There’s a darkness deep within Jesse, but it’s wrapped around this need for forgiveness. He carries a terrible burden, a guilt over something he blames himself for from his childhood. Even though he might not be fully responsible, the darkness, this anger, is a real part of him. He doesn’t just enjoy fighting, he feels at home inflicting pain. When he hurts people, it’s like a heroin addict getting that first fix after months in rehab. This duality, the good and the bad, was crucial in my understanding of the character. People might call him an anti-hero, but he isn’t really. He isn’t a hero either. He’s a man, and the flaws that come with that are what makes this story so unique. Real life isn’t heroes and villains; it’s grey area. That’s what makes him capable of merging with the spirit of Genesis.
Dominic went on to explain what he’s most excited for in the show:
Dominic: There’s just so many place that Preacher can go. It’s a series that spans so many great story arcs; I’m really looking forward to seeing where they will take it. I’m really fortunate to be on this project, and I’m loving the ride. We can go to different places in time, explore different pieces of his life in whatever order, and it would all fit within the narrative. More than that, Preacher has never been a story to pull any punches. Everyone was on Ennis’ chopping block. To be on board a show with not only that much range, but that much potential is a dream.
Fans of the comic know exactly what he means. Non-fans need to immediately go find a copy and become one. Pitch-black humor coating a deeply cynical but powerfully beating heart, there’s a reason it’s a classic. Female lead Ruth Negga had more to say about challenging institutions.
Ruth: I don’t look like Tulip from the comic books. I’m short, I’m brown, I don’t have big boobs, but what does that matter? This is a series that’s about challenging institutions, making people uncomfortable by confronting their idea of normal. I’m not about to rant and say that all films should have a black lead or that white men are bad, but we’ve come to accept a homogenized look as normal. So what, just because I don’t look like her means I can’t play her? Why? I can’t think of a single good reason. If I came into the audition and nailed the part, then I nailed the part. Preacher takes aim at religion, family, American values, and anything else someone could hold sacred. Making us rethink who we expect to see playing a character seems like a great way to honor that.
Ruth went on to explain what her depiction of Tulip brings to the show.
Ruth: What’s great about Tulip is that she’s strong and independent, but totally fucked up. She and Jesse show us how you can be in fiery, passionate, real love with someone and still deeply hate them with a cold, sick [feeling] at the bottom of your stomach. She doesn’t need Jesse. She doesn’t need anyone. She’s a badass action chick that takes care of her own problems. She doesn’t need any saving. But she is weak in ways that make her unable to forget Jesse. They would go to the ends of the Earth to see each other, even if it would just be to tell them what a piece of shit they were.
“Preacher” isn’t set to premiere until May 22nd, but you you should mark it now and clear your calendar. I really don’t typically get excited about shows, especially comic book adaptations. Even shows I really enjoy like “The Flash,” I’ll admit to a certain barrier of entry and acceptance of a goofy factor.
I really can’t stress any more how blown away I was by the pilot episode. I am excited for this show in a way that my jaded critic heart shouldn’t be able to be. If you’ve been waiting for this show to come out since the 90’s, rejoice, for Jesse Custer has risen again.
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