Preacher

Starring: Dominic Cooper (43 episodes), Joseph Gilgun (43 episodes), Ruth Negga (43 episodes), Ian Colletti (43 episodes), Graham McTavish (42 episodes), Pip Torrens (33 episodes), Noah Taylor (33 episodes), Julie Ann Emery (33 episodes), Malcolm Barrett (18 episodes), Mark Harelik (15 episodes), Tyson Ritter (15 episodes), Tom Brooke (13 episodes), W. Earl Brown (11 episodes), Lucy Griffiths (10 episodes), Derek Wilson (10 episodes), Anatol Yusef (10 episodes), Ronald Guttman (10 episodes), Colin Cunningham (10 episodes), Betty Buckley (10 episodes), Jeremy Childs (10 episodes), Jackie Earle Haley (8 episodes), Ricky Mabe (7 episodes), David Field (7 episodes), Amy Hill (6 episodes), Gianna LePera (6 episodes), Adam Croasdell (6 episodes), Nathaniel Woolsey (6 episodes), Bonita Friedericy (6 episodes), Dominic Ruggieri (6 episodes), Nathan Darrow (7 episodes), Miritana Hughes (5 episodes), Aleks Mikic (5 episodes), Jonny Coyne (5 episodes), Prema Cruz (5 episodes), Renes Rivera (5 episodes), Lachy Hulme (4 episodes), Jamie Anne Allman (4 episodes), Ptolemy Slocum (3 episodes)
Directed by: Michael Slovis (7 episodes), Evan Goldberg (4 episodes), Seth Rogen (4 episodes), Wayne Yip (4 episodes), Sam Catlin (3 episodes), Michael Morris (3 episodes), John Grillo (3 episodes), Kevin Hooks (3 episodes), Laura Belsey (2 episodes), Iain B. MacDonald (2 episodes), Jonathan Watson (2 episodes), Michael Dowse (1 episodes)
Rating: TV-MA
Genre: Adventure, Drama, Fantasy
2016-2019

Seasons Seen:
Tim: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4

Summary: After learning that God is missing, a preacher (Dominic Cooper) with an extraordinary power starts a road trip with his ex-girlfriend (Ruth Negga) and a vampire (Joseph Gilgun) to find Him.

Review:
Tim: I'm honestly a bit surprised by how much I enjoyed "Preacher". The show is blasphemous and wrong, but it's brilliant as well. Like most series, it has its up and downs, but it was consistently enjoyable. It's like nothing else on television. It's a series I really appreciated and had fun watching from beginning to end.

I'm not familiar with the source material, but man, what a wild ride this series takes us on. Jesse Custer is an incredible character- a southern preacher who mysteriously gains the power of Genesis, the God-like ability to command people with his voice. He accidentally sends a boy whose face looks like an ass to hell. He teams with a former flame and a vampire to go on a road trip to find God, who has abandoned heaven. There's angels, the Saint of Killers, Jesus, Hitler, a secret religious society, and so much more than I can't even write it all here. It's this insane mosaic of different ideas that are all wrapped in a fairly warped package. It's definitely unique, not kind to organized religion, and quite entertaining.

I loved Dominic Cooper as Jesse. Custer is such a terrific character and he was the ideal person to play him. He's intelligent, deadly, yet has a good heart. He can be selfish, selfless, driven, egotistical, and charismatic. It's a wonderful role and Cooper makes it his own. It's interesting because as important as Custer is and as much as he's the protagonist, the series isn't about him alone- it's much more of an ensemble. It was good seeing Ruth Negga here. I've liked her in previous films and series that she's done. She gives a tremendous performance as Tulip, although I have to admit, I never fully loved her in this role. It's hard to put my finger on it because I like her as an actress and I recognize the effort she puts in. She interacts well with the rest of the cast and makes Tulip this strong, stubborn, enjoyable character. There's just something about her performance that never quite gelled to me. On the other end of the spectrum, I couldn't love Joseph Gilgun's performance more. His Cassidy is one of the most memorable aspects of the whole series. He was my favorite character, in large part due to the masterful performance by Gilgun. He's funny, entertaining, kind, tough. There's so much that this character experiences. It's fascinating to watch him in the sidekick role when he was arguably more interesting than the main character. Gilgun is someone I'll always love for bringing this character to life. He's by far the highlight of the series for me. So much of "Preacher" involves the relationships between these characters- Cooper, Negga, and Gilgun deserve loads of credit for what they did here.

The series also boasts some remarkable supporting performances. Graham McTavish was chilling as The Saint of Killers. He's one of the most formidable, cool villains I've ever seen. Everything about his performance is pitch perfect. His gruff demeanor, the look in his eyes as he dishes out death. It's a remarkable performance in an unforgettable supporting role. I also have to bow in awe of Pip Torrens. His Herr Starr almost defies explanation. I can't verbalize what an odd, oftentimes cringe-inducing, yet memorable villain he created. It's one of the most bizarre roles I've ever seen and Torrens is the only person who could have brought him to life. He had one of the biggest challenges of the entire cast and hit a home run. Noah Taylor did solid work as Hitler and Tyson Ritter showed remarkable range as Jesus and his mentally-challenged descendant. Julie Ann Emery was excellent in a supporting role. Mark Harelik was surprising to me as God- I initially disliked his performance, but he grew into the role and was excellent by the series end. I have to say, I was somewhat torn by Ian Colletti's performance. It's hard for him to really act underneath his Arseface makeup. I never loved the character and it felt like he wasn't as integral to the plot as he needed to be. Many of scenes were slower ones. I don't fully fault Colletti because he did some solid work, too. Still, as a whole, this series boasts a diverse cast who stepped into their roles and did really effective work.

I understand that much of what happens in this series would be considered blasphemous. It's absolutely controversial. I think about the scene in the final season (minor SPOILER ALERT) where Jesus and Hitler get into an absolutely brutal fight. It's insane and conservative Christians would obviously be upset. I was okay with it. I don't think anything here was done out of malice. It might be wrong, but it was done in jest and I accepted that. The series did ask some big questions (usually buried underneath the absurdity) and I enjoyed that aspect.

"Preacher" was a series that told a wholly unique, unforgettable story. It was the right call to end the series after four seasons. It certainly could have continued, but as is, this is a focused, enjoyable story that never lost its way. I had a lot of fun with this and it's a series I'm so happy I watched.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: N/A



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