The owner of Crypt Teaze calls me up last night. His tone disconsolate. He asks me if I've heard the news. "In this day and age, that could mean anything," I say. He says, "Preacher is ending after this coming season." This is the part where I whip my phone to the floor, I start screaming bloody murder, and pacing around the house. I breakout in a sweat, rip my clothes off, walk out to the porch, grab a chair, sit in the nude, and start puffing on a cigarette. Don't ask me why when 45 minutes later he was still on the phone when I pick it up off the ground. He hears me panting on the other end. He's says, "Cool. Would you mind doing a little write up on it's cancellation?" I say nothing and hang up.
Yesterday on Instagram Seth Rogen posted a video with the quote, "The fourth and final season of Preacher is coming. It's been a wild ride. Thank you all." The 4th and final season will premiere August 8th.
The cancellation could be due to multiple reasons. It could be that Rogen's Point Grey Pictures just signed a multi-platform production deal with Lionsgate, which would be a departure from Sony Pictures TV. And since it was a co-production between Sony Pictures TV and AMC Studios... Or it could be the production's budget. It is clearly not a cheap show to do, starring the stars that it does. And to the point of who it stars, maybe it's scheduling conflicts. I have to think Dominic Cooper (Jesse) is in high demand. I know Ruth Negga (Tulip) is high demand. She was nominated for an Oscar a year or two back. And I gotta believe breakout stars Joe Gilgun (Cassidy) and Ian Colletti (Arseface) have opened up new possibilities for themselves because of their strong performances in the show. Or it's because "Preacher" is the only show on AMC that AMC doesn't own. It's hard not to raise eyebrows when news of "Preacher" being cancelled came shortly after AMC announced a third "Walking Dead" spin-off.
Regardless the reasoning, one of my favorite shows in a long time is coming to an end and I'm beyond sad. Hell, I like it even more than "Game of Thrones". Perhaps by a long-shot. Yup, I said it. Preacher was bizarre. Preacher was beautiful. "Preacher" was bloody. "Preacher" was as weird as it was fantastic. If the schedules of the stars and crew permit, I'd love to see them get picked up by HBO (said everyone ever) or FX. I think both would be adequate homes.
For those unfamiliar with "Preacher," the series follows West Texas preacher Jesse Custer, his badass ex-girlfriend Tulip and an Irish vampire named Cassidy as they embark on a road trip to find God and are thrust into a twisted battle spanning Heaven, Hell and everywhere in between.