Greetings, Reddit. Sam Catlin here. Showrunner and Executive Producer of AMC's Preacher and Breaking Bad. AMA!

What was Seth Rogen's involvement? How was his input welcome?

Seth was a stoned heap lying in a cash stuffed mattress in the corner. Other than that? He was invaluable!

Sir:

You played a Maitre D in a Law and Order episode back in 1998.

Do you confirm or deny that there's a secret underground society of actors who have appeared on Law and Order and its hundreds of spin offs over the years, and that secret society's membership numbers in the tens of thousands, and that society controls every aspect of the the television industry?

this is true.

What do you think of Better Call Saul so far?

I'm slowly warming to it as it's sort of designed to do.

what do you think?

Hey Sam, I'm the founder of the Preacher Wiki on Wikia (Preacher.wikia.com). Wondering, has Vyla been completely scrapped in favor for Odin? Also, I've seen it spelt both ways multiple times, is it Donnie or Donny Schenck?

Vyla scrapped for now. Elizabeth Perkins amazing actor but we realized post pilot we wanted to go with more old school quincannon. Donnie Schenck is his name. Schenck being last name of history teacher i had in high school

Would you ever write on spec at this point in your career? Does writing for a day job take any of the fun out of writing for yourself?

good question.

there's a terrible bit of calculus that happens when people start paying you for your services and that is you become ACCUSTOMED to being paid and build a lifestyle around that expectation. this can be death to creativity. imo one has to keep writing as if they're the only audience to please

I am almost finished with book 6 of Preacher and I'm sure all would agree there are quite a few "WTF?" moments. (I love it) My girlfriend is going to watch the show, so my question is, are there as many comparable "WTF?" moments in season 1?

i can honestly say WTF is a big part of the season yes

Who was your favorite BB character? I think Hank was underrated, came across as a knucklehead brother-in-law guy, but at the same time the calculating law man. Was a nice juxtaposition.

i agree. dean norris performance somehwat overlooked. he was great

What was the hardest scene in the pilot to write/and or shoot?

Jesse's final sermon

What's your opinion on Best Buy?

Edit: well fuck, I don't know what I expected.

i really enjoy. maybe i shouldn't but I just sort of exhale and relax around consumer electronic products

Is the Preacher gang going to do a weekly podcast like Kelley Dixon does for Better Call Saul? You should!

yes podcasts! after every episode!

Hi Sam, I'm posting on behalf of the Preacher fan community at WelcometoAnnville.com, it's been a long wait but the pilot episode is finally here, our team is beyond stoked for Sunday night!

We all know how crazy the comic can get. During SXSW back in March  you mentioned in an interview that AMC had let you get away with everything you had filmed to that point. With production on Season One of Preacher wrapping these past couple weeks, without getting into specific details, have there been any instances since where AMC has put their foot down regarding controversial content?

Thanks Sam!‎

Hey G Dude. Incredibly, everything still goes. Lots of blood and severed heads and people set on fire but no feet down!

Would you rather fight 1 duck-sized Jesse Custer or 10 horse sized Jesse Pinkmen?

i wouldn't want to find ANY size Jesse Custer

What is your favorite tv-series?

Do you think Breaking Bad will be popular in ten years time?

it's hard for me to be objective about Breaking Bad but i'm pretty confident Walt's story will still be relevant many years from now

I understand for budgetary reasons that the story has been shifted around a bit to center around Annville.

Is there any possibility, if the show really takes off, that we will see the characters traveling at all? Or is the show's world going to revolve entirely around Annville from start to finish?

whoa whoa nelly. don't worry. Preacher in the end is a ROAD SHOW

I'm a huge fan of the PREACHER comic and am excited for the show. When turning PREACHER into a show, are you making it sort of similar to the Walking Dead, where it's sort of similar to the comic and it's also not? Or do you feel like PREACHER is going to be much more like the comic where it needs to be?

the SPIRIT and CHARACTERS of Garth's comic is the blueprint. the story line is more fluid

How laid out is the storyline for Preacher? Is only Season 1 thought of or is it like an outline of where everything should end up eventually?

we know where it ENDS that's fer sure!

we know some of the worlds we want to explore but not for certain yet what's NEXT

RUMOR is you have a killer fantasy football league. Who's the best player?

it's true. i am not the best player although i am the commisioner whose powers i wield broadly and cruelly

Have you seen the r/Preacher sub?

what is that?

Could you ever see yourself showrunning a video game? Do you think there is untapped potential for more narrative driven games?

that's an awesome idea. i bet they actually sort of have that at these game co's

Did you prefer Fargo season 1 or 2?

Fargo is awesome show. Think I prefer Season 2 actually.

Besides Seth & Evan, Michael Slovis and yourself, who else is directing an episode this season?

Craig Zisk... Scott Winant... Guillermo Navarro... Michael Morris... Kate Dennis...

First, thank you for taking the time to answer questions and be here. I am an aspiring screenwriter living outside of California. I understand that L.A. is really the place one wants to be if they wish to be a screenwriter. However, I'm looking to secure a job as a Staff Writer if at all possible before the big move. What kind of things can I do to be a qualified candidate for a staff writer position that isn't the production assistant to writing assistant to staff writer track?

it's VERY rare to break in as staff writer with no other experience or credits. not impossible or rare. there's a million ways to break in but the PA track is the one ive seen work the most

What was it like working with AMC? Do you think it benefited the show being on a cable channel as opposed to network tv?

for sure. no way this works on network. to be honest i can't believe they're letting us put this shit on CABLE

Do you think the chemistry must be respected?

I do

If you had to adapt one Scorsese film into a multi-year, open ended TV series - which film would you pick, and who would you cast in the leads?

Kundun.

Nic Cage as the Buddhist

What is work like 'punching up' scripts? How does one get the gigs?

good question. never done it. but i hear some top guys get paid a SHITE LOAD for sometimes a weeks work

What is the meaning of life?

i have zero idea

Why did Jesse stick around for Walter's punishment that whole time? How did you understand his character's reasoning for not bailing on this old teacher of his he barely had a connection to, especially after so many of WW's scary shenanigans?

jesse always a follower. and walt had a hold on him.

Hey Sam, I'm going to your old alma mater Tisch in August for Dramatic Writing. Any advice on how to make the best of my education?

i went to Tisch as an actor actually although i hear the writing prgram is excellenT!

What's your guilty pleasure movie/tv show, and has that contributed to anything you have created so far?

my guilty pleasure is trolling bus stops for teenage runaways

this has informed everything

How do you select crew? If one knew of a talented DP/cameraman who really wanted to work for you, where would they send their stuff?

camera crew is selected usually by the cinematographer

What are your top 5 tv shows of all time?

(wont include b bad)

wire sopranos mad men simpsons british office

BB seemed to have a lot of promotions from within? More than usual? Was that a result of people leaving the back office for other things, or did the needs grow bigger as the show progressed?

I think VG was really good at casting people. Both cast and crew. Allowed him to promote within and not a lot of turnover

I'm curious what the day-to-day is like for a showrunner. I'm sure it depends on the person, the show, and the day, but what does your day tend to be like? Are you on set a lot?

The show looks fantastic, BTW. Can't wait to see it!

I spend most of my time alongside my customized chocolate fountain browsing tasteful nudes of desperate young starlets. Ocassionally I take calls from my money manager. The show pretty much writes itself.

seriously i'm in writer's room breaking stories with occasional visits to New Mexico set but need to finsih writing before I can really be on set full time.

What's your favorite comic book?

Archie & Veronica

the early, edgy ones

What drama shows from before 1990 do you think could stand up against shows from the post-Sopranos renaissance?

very few i imagine.

hill street blues maybe?

Hey Sam! Love Your work on Break Bad! haha but seriously one of the things i love about Preacher, as well as everyone, are the villains! How often can we see new villains spring out of the wood work? I am anxious for the premiere! I know you, Seth, and Evan are going to dominate !

thanks!

there will be villians out the ying yang