AMC announced today from the SXSW Festival that the highly-anticipated new series Preacher will premiere Sunday, May 22nd at 10:00 p.m. ET/PT following the mid-season finale of Fear the Walking Dead. An encore presentation of the pilot episode will air the following Sunday, May 29th with back-to-back airings beginning at 9:00 p.m. ET/PT providing new viewers multiple opportunities to catch up during the holiday weekend. New episodes will resume on Sunday, June 5th at the series regular time of 9:00 p.m. ET/PT. Preacher, which is based on Garth Ennis and Steve Dillon's popular '90's comic book franchise of the same name, is a Sony Pictures Television and AMC Studios co-production.

The ten-episode season was developed for television by executive producers Seth Rogen & Evan Goldberg (This Is the End, Superbad, Neighbors) and executive producer and showrunner Sam Catlin (Breaking Bad). Preacher is a supernatural, twisted and darkly comedic drama that follows a West Texas preacher named Jesse Custer, who is inhabited by a mysterious entity that causes him to develop a highly unusual power. Jesse, his badass ex-girlfriend Tulip and an Irish vagabond named Cassidy come together and when they do, they are thrust into a crazy world populated by a cast of characters from Heaven, Hell and everywhere in between. Here's what Joel Stillerman, president of original programming and development for AMC and SundanceTV, had to say in a statement.

"We're thrilled to finally be sharing this epic story with characters unlike any other on television. Sam Catlin, Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg have brought Garth's writing and Steve's artistry to life in the most gratifying way possible. Fans of the comic book and fans of just great television have a lot to look forward to as they'll travel on an unforgettable journey and watch in unison as the craziness unfolds."

The series stars Dominic Cooper as Jesse Custer, Joseph Gilgun as Cassidy, Ruth Negga) as Tulip, Lucy Griffiths as Emily, W. Earl Brown as Sheriff Root, Anatol Yusef as DeBlanc, Tom Brooke as Fiore, Derek Wilson as Donnie Schenk and Ian Colletti as Eugene/Arseface. The supporting cast also includes Jamie Anne Allman as Betsy Schenk, Thomas Barbusca as Chris Schenk, Lucas Neff as J.J. Quinncannon and Elizabeth Perkins as Vyla Quinncannon. Here's what Sam Catlin had to say in his statement.

"Seth, Evan and I couldn't be more excited to be the beneficiaries of AMC's historic bit of programming miscalculation. Lord have mercy on all our souls!"

James Weaver, Neal H. Moritz, Vivian Cannon, Ori Marmur, Ken F. Levin and Jason Netter also serve as executive producers on the series, with Garth Ennis, Steve Dillon, Mark McNair, Michael Slovis and Sara Goodman serving as co-executive producers. In addition to the premiere date announcement, AMC has debuted a new {NEzCwrW5k8BQDz, which you can check out below. Are you excited that Preacher is finally coming to the small screen in just a few short months? Check out the new poster, and stay tuned for more on Preacher.