Preacher season 2: Creator spills on what to expect next from the surreal hit

Where do we go now - after season 1's shocking, twisted finale?

*WARNING: MAJOR SPOILERS FOR PREACHER SEASON 1'S FINALE*

A finale to end all finales.

An apocalypse for the town of Annville, Texas; God is gone, and the entire place has been wiped off the map thanks to the meat processing plant's exploding methane reactor. Where do we possibly go from here?

"A sinful, Sodom and Gomorrah-type town, blowing up on its sh*t," Preacher executive producer/co-creator Sam Catlin told Deadline, "it’s all a direct result of the absence of God."

Catlin further confirmed that, yes, everyone's gone; including nemesis Odin Quincannon (Jackie Earle Haley) and Emily (Lucy Griffiths). Permanently. All save for Eugene Root AKA Arseface, who we know Jesse sent to Hell using Genesis; and the three survivors, Jesse, Tulip, and Cassidy.

"In the end, we had to clear the deck, there’s so many great characters from the comic to come," Caitlin explains, with the first season essentially intended as a prequel to the source comics, with some nods to the "Gone to Texas" series.

"In the first season we really wanted to establish Jesse’s relationship to God and lack thereof," he continues. "He is disillusioned and losing his congregation from the beginning. We needed to put Jesse’s journey into context, and his mission for next season." That mission is to track God down and, as Jesse puts it, if he "wants our helps, we'll help him... but if he doesn't, we'll kick his ass."

Season 2 will continue with the Saint of Killers (Graham McTavish)'s hunt for Jesse; while also introducing a new character Caitlin teases as, "the figure in white, and fanboys will know who that is. They’ve already seen the character briefly."

That's a reference to Episode 3, "The Possibilities", when Tulip comes across the name "Grail Industries" on some paperwork; with a brief glimpse at a man in a white suit and hat, which the comics reveal to be Herr Star. He's second in command for the Grail; an Illuminati-type organisation that controls the world's governments and protects a great secret surrounding Jesus' death.

Catlin has also promised serial killer Reaver Cleaver, Jesse's Cajun grandmother and her bodyguard Jody will all make appearances during the series. “We don’t know who killed Jesse’s father, but we’ll know more about who those two men were," he adds.

Preacher season 2 will air in 2017.