With a long wait before The Boys season 5 releases on Prime Video, Netflix has added a terrific show to their catalog that will help pass the time. Netflix added a massive batch of AMC original episodes to its streaming service on August 19, 2024, including both big hits and underappreciated titles such as Fear the Walking Dead, Into the Badlands, Interview with the Vampire, and Preacher. The latter TV show is a dark, obscene, and highly acclaimed comic-based series that aired on AMC for four seasons and shares many similarities with The Boys – and for good reason.
Starring Dracula Untold’s Dominic Cooper, Preacher premiered on AMC in 2016 to generally positive reviews from critics. The gory and bizarrely comedic show is based on Vertigo Comics’ name-named series, which was co-created by none other than The Boys’ comics writer and co-creator Garth Ennis. However, while Preacher’s TV adaptation on AMC debuted three years before The Boys season 1 hit Prime Video, the earlier show lacked the same widespread reach, attention, and enthusiasm as the superhero satire. Now that all four seasons of Preacher are streaming on Netflix, the series will hopefully receive a well-earned resurgence in popularity.
Preacher Is Now Streaming On Netflix – What AMC’s Dark Supernatural Show Is About
Preacher Is A Violent Comedy Horror Show With A Superpowered Reverend
After The Boys season 4’s shocking ending, watching Preacher on Netflix is a great way to fill the gap left by the satirical, violent, and obscene hit series. Preacher follows the story of the titular Texan preacher Jesse Custer (Cooper), who is known for his heavy drinking, chainsmoking, and criminal past. When the show begins, Jesse is having a crisis of faith when he’s suddenly given a strong and dangerous superpower to make others do as he commands.
Preacher season 1 sees Jesse embark on a journey to quite literally find God and learn more about his new power, being joined by his ex-girlfriend Tulip and Cassidy, a vampire. On their highly lethal mission, Jesse and his fellow travelers happen upon various supernatural figures who provide help and obstacles to their journey, ranging from angels and demons to Hell-condemned dictators and operatives of secret religious organizations. While The Boys’ violence and dark twists satirize politics and superheroes, Preacher pushes boundaries by satirizing religious themes with horror elements.
| Title | Rotten Tomatoes Critics Score | Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score | Title | Rotten Tomatoes Critics Score | Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Preacher season 1 | 89% | 84% | The Boys season 1 | 85% | 91% |
| Preacher season 2 | 91% | 78% | The Boys season 2 | 97% | 84% |
| Preacher season 3 | 92% | 74% | The Boys season 3 | 98% | 75% |
| Preacher season 4 | 77% | 60% | The Boys season 4 | 92% | 54% |
The black comedy series was co-developed by Breaking Bad’s Sam Catlin as well as Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg (who also produce Prime Video’s The Boys), continuing AMC’s trend of acclaimed dark and gritty TV shows. Preacher holds an accumulative score of 87% from critics on Rotten Tomatoes, indicating widespread acclaim for the shocking series. The show also landed well with audiences, boasting a 79% score overall from viewers on the review aggregator site.
Preacher & The Boys’ Comics Exist In The Same Universe, But Do The TV Shows?
Preacher & The Boys Are Both Based On Comic Book Series From Garth Ennis
Both being co-created by Garth Ennis, it isn’t too surprising to learn that Preacher and The Boys’ comics exist within the same fictional supernatural world. The fourth volume of The Boys’ comics included a cameo from Preacher’s vampire character Proinsias Cassidy, who appeared as a bartender and a friend of supe-hater Billy Butcher. Cassidy’s inclusion established the two comic series as taking place within the same universe, but this hasn’t necessarily been translated to The Boys and Preacher’s TV shows.
“They’re both produced by Sony Pictures Television, so it’s possible that a crossover could potentially happen in The Boys season 5 or a future spinoff”
As far as it’s been revealed, The Boys and Preacher’s TV adaptations don’t exist in the same universe. No characters from Preacher have shown up in Prime Video’s The Boys, and there haven’t been any establishing references to suggest they exist in a shared world. This could potentially be due to issues with rights, as AMC made Preacher while Amazon is the company behind The Boys. However, they’re both produced by Sony Pictures Television, so it’s possible that a crossover could potentially happen in The Boys season 5 or a future spinoff.
Why Preacher Ended After Only 4 Seasons
Preacher Ended In 2019 After A Decline In Ratings
While Preacher maintained critical acclaim across its entire run, the show came to an end after only four seasons in 2019. It’s still unclear whether AMC canceled Preacher or the cast and crew decided it was the right time to end the series. However, Preacher had notably lower viewership ratings throughout season 4 than it did back in season 1, so it seems the show was already reaching an end-point with its audience appeal.
Fortunately, The Boys aired on Prime Video the same year that Preacher ended on AMC, guaranteeing that fans of the comics would not miss out on some horrific, boundary-pushing, supernatural satire stories on television. With The Boys already having a few fascinating spinoff projects available to stream or in development, such as Gen V and Vought Rising, there’s no shortage of Garth Ennis-inspired stories on TV. Hopefully, The Boys’ popularity will continue to encourage more people to revisit or watch Preacher for the first time while it is available on Netflix.
