HBO brings 'Preacher' to the TV screen

LOS ANGELES, Nov. 29 (UPI) -- The Home Box Office network is bringing the popular comic book series "Preacher" to the small screen, with a one-hour series from the director of "Daredevil."

The pilot for the new show, based on the Vertigo comics series from the 1990s, is being written by Mark Steven Johnson, who is also behind the upcoming "Ghost Rider" film, while Howard Deutch will direct, the Hollywood Reporter said Wednesday.

The comic book "Preacher" ran from 1995 to 2000 and told the story of a Texas preacher possessed by a supernatural entity called genesis, which was conceived by the unnatural coupling of an angel and a demon.

The preacher teams up with an old girlfriend and a hard-drinking Irish vampire to set out on a journey across America to find God, who has apparently abandoned his duties in heaven.

The series' creators, writer Garth Ennis and artist Steve Dillon, will serve as co-executive producers.

The new project reunites Johnson and Deutch, who last worked together on "Grumpier Old Men," which Johnson wrote and Deutch directed.