If anybody was worried that the apocalyptic celestial misadventures of Reverend Jesse Custer and his merry band of misfits were going to end prematurely, your prayers have been answered: not only will AMC’s Preacher come back for a second season, it’s going to be an expanded one with 13 episodes. The news was shared via press release on Wednesday ahead of a five-episode marathon on Thursday night to catch people up for the show’s sixth episode on Sunday. Already, the series is a hit for the basic cable network which also gave the world The Walking Dead, Mad Men, and Breaking Bad.
Charlie Collier, president of AMC, SundanceTV, and AMC Studios, offered his congratulations for the work of series creators Evan Goldberg, Seth Rogen, and Sam Catlin. “What Sam, Seth, Evan and the entire creative team have achieved in bringing Garth Ennisâ graphic novel to the screen is extraordinary,” he said. “We look forward to more time with these unforgettable characters be it in Heaven, Hell, Texas or beyond.”
Preacher tells the story of Jesse Custer (Dominic Cooper), a small-town preacher who is on a mission to find God. Not just metaphorically; he wants to find the literal deity Himself. Along for the ride are Cassidy (Joseph Gilgun), an Irish vampire, and Tulip (Ruth Negga), Jesse’s more than capable, gun-toting ex-girlfriend. To call Ennis’ original graphic novel series “edgy” is a bit of an understatement and the production team aren’t shying away from any of it, or as much as they can get away with on basic cable.
The comics ran for five years and 75 total issues, so here’s hoping the TV series is around long enough to get through the whole bloody affair. Let us know what you think of the extended season two news in the comments below!
The Preacher crew talked to us at SXSW and it was hilarious.
Image: AMC TV
Kyle Anderson is the Associate Editor for Nerdist. Follow him on Twitter!