6 things to think about going into the premiere of AMC's 'Preacher'

A preacher who wields the voice of God, an Irish vampire and a mysterious woman with a dark past meet up in a small Texas town....

That's no joke; it's the setup for Preacher, AMC's latest comic book-to-television series experiment.

SEE ALSO: The first teaser for AMC's 'Preacher' series has arrived

The network was obviously emboldened by the success of The Walking Dead, as Preacher is excessively weird and steeped in heretical religious commentary. It makes Rick Grimes' zombie apocalypse journey look like a tame episode of My Little Pony.

Read on for a spoiler-free sense of what to expect from the series' pilot episode, which airs at 10 p.m. ET on Sunday, May 22.

It's a slow burn

There's a lot going on in the Preacher universe, but the pilot script from showrunner (and Breaking Bad alum) Sam Catlin is careful about easing in. 

The episode introduces Reverend Jesse Custer (Dominic Cooper) by peering through the window of his small-town Texas existence. Church organist and all-around planner Emily (Lucy Griffiths) doesn't appear in the comics, but she helps us understand Jesse. She grounds him.

There are glimpses of the wackiness to come when Cassidy and Tulip show up, but the first episode goes out of its way to introduce Jesse's humanity, and establish him as the emotional heart of the story.

Pay close attention to the first and last scenes

It might start slow with regards to the main characters, but Preacher gets off on a weird foot right away with the pilot episode's opening scene. We won't spoil the surprise, but watch and listen carefully. You might hear something that sounds like a baby crying. Don't forget that.

Then, the episode's final scene features a brief introduction of two mysterious characters: DeBlanc and Fiore. You'll see plenty more of these two in the episodes to come. For now, know that they're uniquely positioned to answer some important early questions that crop up.

It might not be clear initially — especially if you're not familiar with the comics — but both of these moments hint at the wider universe in Preacher and some of the key mysteries the TV series will likely explore.

Betsy and Donnie Schenck

What does the Schenck family tell us about Preacher? Betsy and Donnie don't appear in the comics. Neither does their son Chris, who asks TV Jesse for help dealing with an apparent domestic abuse situation.

Where Emily helps us understand Jesse's emotional core, the situation with the Schencks draws out his darker side. It also touches on a theme that should come up again and again throughout the series: perspective makes all the difference.

Think about how Jesse handles the Schencks, and what he learns (or doesn't learn) from his encounters with them.

Jesse's power manifests

Not only does the pilot introduce that power that comes to inhabit Jesse, it also shows the first instance of that power in action.

Jesse won't realize what he's done until later, but the pilot establishes the audiovisual language for those moments when the preacher wields the voice of God. That ability is the story's key driving force, so it's important to set up what it looks and sounds like on the show.

You might come out of the pilot wondering what the heck is going on, but you'll also have a good sense of the baseline rules.

If the pilot doesn't sell you, hang in there

Preacher's pilot was shot well before the series order was placed, meaning there's a gap in actual time between the shooting of the first episode and the nine that follow it.

All of which is to say: Don't write the show off completely if the first episode doesn't do it for you. While the pilot is a worthy introduction to thePreacher universe, the story finds itself on much surer footing in the subsequent three episodes that AMC has screened so far for press.

Read this only if you know the comics

If you're interested in the show but aren't familiar with the comics, this is your one and only spoiler warning.

Preacher's pilot diverges sharply from the way the story is introduced in the comics. Jesse does not spontaneously burn his congregation to cinders. There's no epic shootout between the Saint of Killers and the police. AMC is clearly taking some time to get us acquainted with the personalities behind the powers.

The TV timeline also seems to be shifting some storylines around. You'll meet Odin Quincannon in the first episode. Catch glimpses of the Saint of Killers and Herr Starr in the three that follow. Find added pathos in Sheriff Root's relationship with his son Eugene — he's not "Arseface" (yet) here.

The vibe over the series' first four episodes isn't so far off from the way The Walking Dead felt early on. Neither is a direct copy of its comic book source, but both lean heavily on key characters while modifying some of the storylines that come to define them.