4. Chas Will Appear
The only exception to that otherwise all-encompassing rule is Francis "Chas" Chandler, who John met in the comic book world when he moved to London and roomed with him. He is John's closest and longest surviving friend, who also drives him around. The pilot describes him as a tall, sensitive, quiet type (played by True Detective's creepy Charles Halford) who is quite knowledgeable about the supernatural himself, fitting in with the stereotype of the London cabbie as possessor of The Knowledge. In the comics, Chas is named after the famous Jimi Hendrix producer - the second musical source for main characters - and was in John's punk band Mucous Membrane, who he was touring with at the time of the Astra incident, so there may be some mention of that in the pilot. What is perhaps less likely to appear is mention of Chas' own backstory - his magic-dabbling, abusive, obese mother Queenie and her monkey familiar Slag, who made Chas' life hell, alienating him from his friends and potential girlfriends thanks to his smell. Naturally, Constantine solved that situation by seducing the monkey, and drowning her: if NBC are going to balk at the idea of smoking, they're unlikely to embrace monkey love. There is a pleasant synchronicity to Chas and Constantine's relationship that is likely to appear in the show. Chas provides the muscle, and Constantine the mouth and brains, though the latter tends to keep the former away from the more dangerous aspects of his life and career, knowing that most of his friends tend to die.