Television series

Preacher

Name: Preacher
Genre: Drama, Western, Supernatural
Released: 2016
Cast: Dominic Cooper, Ruth Negga, Joseph Gilgun, Ian Colletti, Graham McTavish

A small-town preacher gets possessed by a cosmic entity that lets him literally command anyone with his voice, then sets off with his ex and a hard-drinking vampire to find God, who's gone missing. It's blood-soaked, blasphemous, occasionally gross-out, but underneath the chaos there's real ache about faith, loyalty and whether love can survive when everyone keeps dying and coming back.

TVMaze rating

8.0

If you liked this

The Boys2019

From the same Seth Rogen/Evan Goldberg engine room, this superhero satire shares identical DNA: extreme gore played for laughs, righteous rage at hypocrisy, and characters who are genuinely broken rather than quippy.

But The satire is broader and meaner, with less of Preacher's stubborn romanticism underneath the carnage.

Supernatural2005

Two guys, a car, and a decade-plus war against demons, angels and God himself — the tone lurches from goofy to devastating just like Preacher does, often in the same episode.

But Fifteen seasons is an enormous commitment, and the early years are rougher, more monster-of-the-week.

True Blood2008

Southern gothic pulp with vampires, sex, violence and a deep streak of religious anxiety about small-town America — it shares Preacher's willingness to be trashy and sincere in the same breath.

But Leans harder into soap-opera romance and less into theological weight.

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

El Topo1970no page yet

Preacher's fusion of gunslinger mythology, religious blasphemy and surreal gore has a direct ancestor here — this is the acid-western template the comic and show were riffing on.

Jodorowsky's acid-western follows a gunslinger through a surreal, blood-drenched spiritual quest studded with biblical imagery and grotesque violence — the id Preacher's western-messiah plot springs from, decades before comics caught up.

But Slow, deliberately baffling and genuinely strange; this is arthouse provocation, not popcorn.

American Gods2017no page yet

Old gods walk among us in diners and dive bars, rendered with the same hallucinatory visual swagger and pulpy violence Preacher trades in, adapted from another beloved cult novel.

But Plot-light and mood-heavy — gorgeous to look at, but it meanders more than Preacher ever does.

Constantine2005

A chain-smoking exorcist walks the line between Heaven and Hell with weary sarcasm, giving you Preacher's demons-and-angels cosmology in a tighter, punchier two hours.

But Keanu Reeves plays it fairly straight-faced; expect less comedy and more moody noir atmosphere.

Lucifer2016

The Devil himself moonlights as an LA detective, mixing procedural comfort-food plotting with the same cheeky theology-as-playground energy Preacher runs on.

But Network-friendly and much softer-edged — don't expect the gore or the genuine menace.

iZombie2015

A zombie coroner solves murders by eating brains and absorbing memories, delivering Preacher's blend of splatter, dark jokes and surprising heart in a breezier package.

But Lighter stakes and a more conventional case-of-the-week structure than Preacher's serialized weirdness.

Deadwood2004

No supernatural elements, but this is the western Preacher keeps winking at — filthy, poetic, morally chaotic, and obsessed with what civilization does to violent men.

But Dense, profanity-poetic dialogue takes real effort, and there's zero genre spectacle to lean on.

Hellboy2004

Guillermo del Toro's demon-with-a-heart-of-gold romp shares Preacher's fondness for pairing pulpy occult violence with genuine tenderness and dumb jokes.

But More kid-friendly adventure than horror-comedy; the edges are considerably softer.

Jesus Camp2006

Preacher's satire of American evangelicalism isn't as exaggerated as it looks; this doc shows the real theatrics, certainty and fervor the show is quietly sending up.

A sober documentary following American evangelical children at a summer camp, it shows the real-world fervor, showmanship and unease that Preacher exaggerates into demons and miracles.

But No jokes, no gore, no plot — just an uncomfortable, clear-eyed look at faith as spectacle.

Silence2016

Strip away the gore and jokes and Preacher's real engine is Jesse's search for a God who's gone quiet — Silence asks the identical question with total solemnity instead of blasphemy.

Scorsese's brutal, contemplative epic follows Jesuit priests in 17th-century Japan wrestling with the same question that haunts Jesse Custer: what does it mean when God won't answer?

But Long, austere and devastating rather than fun — there's no gallows humour to relieve the suffering.