Garth Ennis and Steve Dillon’s cult 1990s comic book series Preacher is taking another step to the small screen as the drama adaptation of the controversial comic from This Is the End writers/directors Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg has been picked up to pilot by AMC. The project had been heating up for a pilot order at AMC, which recently held producer meetings on seven other scripts the network brass were high on. None of them has made it to pilot.

Preacher, from Son y TV and AMC Studios, was developed for television by Rogen and Goldberg, who will direct the pilot, and Sam Catlin (Breaking Bad) who wrote the script and will serve as showrunner. Preacher is about Jesse Custer, a conflicted Preacher in a small Texas town who merges with a creature that has escaped from heaven and develops the ability to make anyone do anything he says. Along with his ex-girlfriend, Tulip, and an Irish vampire named Cassidy, the three embark on a journey to literally find God.

“Preacher has been our favorite comic since it first came out,” Rogen & Goldberg said. “Garth Ennis is one of our idols and it’s an incredible honor to be working on this. We promise we won’t make too many dick jokes and ruin it.”

Rogen and Goldberg will executive produce through their Point Grey banner, along with the company’s James Weaver. Also executive producing are Catlin, Original Film’s Neal Moritz, Vivian Cannon and Ori Marmur as well as Ken Levin, Jason Netter. Ennis and Dillon co-executive produce.

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“Every once in a while you find a project where all the elements line up beautifully. With Preacher, it starts with a bold, compelling, and thought-provoking comic book series from Garth Ennis and Steve Dillon and a whole lot of fans who already know Jesse Custer, Cassidy, and Tulip,” said Joel Stillerman, AMC’s EVP of original programming. “Add to that the passionate and talented Seth Rogen, Evan Goldberg, and Sam Catlin, an incredible producing team in Neal Moritz, the Original Film team and our good friends at Sony Pictures Television, and we have everything we need to be VERY excited to move forward on Preacher.”

Rogen and Goldberg had been looking to get a Preacher adaptation off the ground for seven years. The 1995-2000 comic series, from DC’s Vertigo imprint, quickly achieved a cult status while also creating controversy with its dark and violent content. AMC no doubt is looking to repeat the success of another series based on an edgy comic, The Walking Dead.

Over the past year, AMC picked up five pilots, dramas White City, featured in the spring round of producer meetings, Galyntine, Knifeman and The Walking Dead companion, as well as comedy I Hate Paul Revere. The network recently passed on Galyntine, Knifeman and I Hate Paul Revere.