Since his first appearance as Gustavo Fring in AMC’s Breaking Bad in 2009, Giancarlo Esposito became TV’s go-to bad guy in other shows, including The Mandalorian and Revolution, before reprising his role as Gus in the prequel series Better Call Saul. Next month, AMC will finally give Esposito his own show in the new crime drama Parish.
Ahead of the series premiere, we’ve put together this primer about everything we know about Parish, including a quick guide to the main characters and the premise of the show.
Is Parish connected to Breaking Bad?
No. This show is completely separate from Breaking Bad or Better Call Saul. Beyond the casting of Esposito and the genre, the only thing that Parish has in common with the two earlier shows is the network that airs them.
What is Parish about?
Esposito plays the main character, Gracián “Gray” Parish, a successful businessman who owns a luxury car service in New Orleans. Gray also has a wife, Ros, and two children, including a daughter named Michaela. But Gray wasn’t always so squeaky clean. Decades ago, he was a talented driver in the criminal underworld, a past that he thought he had put behind him.
When Gray and Ros’ son dies, Gray’s grief sends him spiraling out of control and running with the wrong crowd again. The next thing Gray knows, he’s been roped into a human trafficking operation run by a man whose criminal alias is The Horse. Although Gray wants to extract himself from this situation as soon as possible, it may already be too late. Gray’s renewed criminal activities quickly attract the attention of Anton, one of his former associates who is also a rival crime lord to The Horse.
Who has been cast in Parish?
In addition to Esposito as Gray, the rest of the cast includes the following performers:
- Arica Himmel as Michaela
- Paula Malcomson as Ros
- Ivan Mbakop as Zenzo
- Bonnie Mbuli as Shamiso Tongai
- Zackary Momo as The Horse
- Dax Rey as Luke
- Skeet Ulrich as Colin
- Bradley Whitford as Anton
- Caleb Baumann as Maddox Parish
Additionally, Orphan Black‘s Amanda Brugel has a guest-starring role as Sister Anne, a woman who has a past with Gray.
Is there a trailer for Parish?
There is. And the trailer quickly sets a different tone from Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul. Esposito always delivers compelling performances, and it’s clear from the footage that this show will be no exception. If anything, it looks like the series will give Esposito plenty of sides of Gray to perform.
If there’s any footage of Gray’s son in the trailer, then it isn’t readily apparent. What is clear is that Gray is going to be getting his hands dirty on this show more often than Gus Fring did. The trailer also seems to be showing viewers how Gray is boxed in by his choices until even his wife and daughter become aware of his criminal past and present.
When will Parish premiere?
AMC has set a premiere date for Parish on Sunday, March 31, right after the finale of The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live. Parish season 1 will be six episodes long, and the series will also be available to stream on AMC+.
