''The Righteous Gemstones'' is an American television series created by

Danny McBride Daniel Richard McBride (born December 29, 1976) is an American actor, comedian, screenwriter and producer. He starred in the HBO television series ''Eastbound & Down'', '' Vice Principals'', and ''The Righteous Gemstones'', also co-creating th ...

that premiered on August 18, 2019, on HBO. The series follows a famous and dysfunctional family of televangelists. It stars McBride,

John Goodman John Stephen Goodman (born June 20, 1952) is an American actor. He gained national fame for his role as the family patriarch Dan Conner in the American Broadcasting Company, ABC comedy series ''Roseanne'' (1988–1997; 2018), for which he rec ...

Edi Patterson Edi Christine Patterson is an American actress and writer. She has primarily acted in comedies. She is best known for portraying Fran in the film '' Knives Out'' (2019), Veronica in the series '' Partners'' (2014), Jen Abbott in the series '' Vi ...

Adam DeVine Adam Patrick Devine (born November 7, 1983) is an American actor, comedian, singer, screenwriter, and producer. He is one of the stars and co-creators of the Comedy Central comedy television series ''Workaholics'' and '' Adam Devine's House Par ...

Cassidy Freeman Cassidy Freeman (born April 22, 1982) is an American actress and musician. She is known for her roles as Tess Mercer in The CW's superhero drama ''Smallville'', Amber Gemstone in the HBO series ''The Righteous Gemstones'', and Cady Longmire in ...

, Tony Cavalero,

Tim Baltz Tim Baltz is an American comedian, actor, and writer. He appeared as a "citizen journalist" on the Comedy Central series '' The Opposition with Jordan Klepper''. He currently stars on ''The Righteous Gemstones''. Early life Born in Joliet, Ill ...

Skyler Gisondo Skyler Augustus Gisondo (born July 22, 1996) is an American actor. He is known for his roles in the films ''Licorice Pizza'', ''Booksmart'', and ''Vacation'', as well as the television programs ''The Righteous Gemstones'' and '' Santa Clarita Di ...

, and

Walton Goggins Walton Sanders Goggins Jr. (born November 10, 1971) is an American actor. He has starred in a number of television series, including ''The Shield'' (2002–2008), '' Justified'' (2010–2015), '' Vice Principals'' (2016–2017), ''The Righteous ...

. In September 2019, HBO renewed the series for a second season, which premiered on January 9, 2022. In January 2022, the series was renewed for a third season.

Premise

''The Righteous Gemstones'' depicts a family of

televangelist Televangelism ( tele- "distance" and "evangelism," meaning " ministry," sometimes called teleministry) is the use of media, specifically radio and television, to communicate Christianity. Televangelists are ministers, whether official or self-pr ...

s and

megachurch A megachurch is a church with an unusually large membership that also offers a variety of educational and social activities, usually Protestant or Evangelical. The Hartford Institute for Religion Research defines a megachurch as any Protestant C ...

pastors led by widowed patriarch Eli Gemstone (

). Eli and his immature children, Jesse (

), Judy (

) and Kelvin (

), lead opulent lives funded by church donations. In the first season, Eli's estranged brother-in-law, Baby Billy Freeman (

), is brought in to lead the Gemstones' new shopping-mall-based satellite church, which leads to a conflict with Rev. John Wesley Seasons ( Dermot Mulroney) whose smaller, neighboring church is threatened. Concurrently, a trio of masked figures blackmail Jesse with a scandalous video documenting the lewd behavior of him and his best friends. In the second season, Jesse and Amber partner with Texas megachurch leaders Lyle and Lindy Lissons (

Eric André Eric Samuel André (born April 4, 1983) is an American stand-up comedian, actor, producer, television host and writer. He is best known as the creator, host, and co-writer of the Adult Swim comedy series '' The Eric Andre Show'' (2012–present) ...

and

Jessica Lowe ''Wrecked'' is an American sitcom that was created by Jordan Shipley and Justin Shipley for TBS. The series is about a group of people stranded on an island, after their airplane crashed in the ocean and is a parody of '' Lost''. The 10-episode ...

) to develop a Christian timeshare resort. The family faces threats including investigative journalist Thaniel Block (

Jason Schwartzman Jason Francesco Schwartzman (born June 26, 1980) is an American actor and musician. Schwartzman made his film debut in Wes Anderson's 1998 film '' Rushmore'', and has gone on to appear in six other Anderson films: '' The Darjeeling Limited'' (2 ...

), Junior (

Eric Roberts Eric Anthony Roberts (born April 18, 1956) is an American actor. His career began with a leading role in '' King of the Gypsies'' (1978) for which he received his first Golden Globe Award nomination. He was nominated again at the Golden Globes ...

) an old friend from Eli's criminal past, and a mysterious group of motorcycle-riding assassins.

Cast and characters

Main

as Jesse Gemstone, Eli's oldest son and associate pastor of the Gemstone Salvation Center. Although appearing to be a faithful father and husband, Jesse barely conceals a crude and arrogant personality and a debauched lifestyle, which he often partakes in with his "gang" of friends and subordinates. *

as Dr. Eli Gemstone, the patriarch of the Gemstone family and lead pastor of the Gemstone Salvation Center. Eli is a widower, having lost his wife, Aimee-Leigh, one year prior to the start of the series. Although not as openly greedy and vulgar as his children, Eli often prioritizes his own wealth and status ahead of spirituality. *

as Kelvin Gemstone, Eli's youngest son and youth pastor of the Gemstone Salvation Center. Kelvin strives to prove himself as a leader, despite his immaturity and impulsiveness. He shares his mansion with his recent convert and friend, Keefe Chambers. *

as Judy Gemstone, Eli's daughter. Judy, the middle child, often feels underestimated by her family and is prone to neurotic and psychopathic behavior. * Tony Cavalero as Keefe Chambers, a dim-witted ex-Satanist and roommate of Kelvin, who works security at the Gemstone's church. Keefe reveres Kelvin as a spiritual leader. *

as Amber Gemstone, Jesse's wife who projects the image of a supportive and loving spouse. She encourages Jesse's ambitions to take more control of the church while privately struggling with his negative qualities. *

as Gideon Gemstone, Jesse's oldest son, who moved to California to be a stunt performer, an act that Jesse considered to be a betrayal. Gideon is a skilled martial artist. *

as Baby Billy Freeman (season 1, recurring season 2), Eli's brother-in-law and brother of the deceased Aimee-Leigh Gemstone. A faded child star who was once part of a Gospel song-and-dance double-act with his sister, Baby Billy is a habitual liar whose financial dependence, bad influence on Jesse and Judy, and tendency to abandon his loved ones strained his relationship with the Gemstones. Baby Billy resides at Freeman's Gap, his and Aimee-Leigh's childhood home in the

Appalachian Mountains The Appalachian Mountains, often called the Appalachians, (french: Appalaches), are a system of mountains in eastern to northeastern North America. The Appalachians first formed roughly 480 million years ago during the Ordovician Period. They ...

, with his much younger wife Tiffany. *

Gregory Alan Williams Gregory Alan Williams (born June 12, 1956) sometimes credited as Gregalan Williams, is an American actor and author. He is best known for portraying LAPD Officer Garner Ellerbee in '' Baywatch''. From 2011 until 2013, Williams portrayed the rol ...

as Martin Imari, Eli's right-hand-man and the Gemstones' accountant who is often entrusted with cleaning up after the family's scandals. *

as Benjamin Jason "BJ" Barnes Judy's sensitive and mediocre fiancé, and later, husband. He is often intimidated by Judy, although it's apparent that he really loves her. BJ works in an optometrist's office in a local grocery store. * Dermot Mulroney as Rev John Wesley Seasons (season 1), a pastor of a much smaller congregation, forced to compete with the Gemstones' new church in Locust Grove *

Jennifer Nettles Jennifer Odessa Nettles (born September 12, 1974) is an American singer, songwriter, actress and record producer. Nettles is the lead vocalist of the duo Sugarland alongside Kristian Bush, and prior to this she fronted the Atlanta-based band ...

as Aimee-Leigh Gemstone, Eli's deceased wife and mother of Jesse, Judy, and Kelvin. Nettles portrays Aimee-Leigh in flashbacks.

Recurring

Jody Hill Jody Hill (born October 15, 1976) is an American director, producer, screenwriter, and actor. In 2006, he directed, co-wrote, co-produced and co-starred in his first film ''The Foot Fist Way'', which he based on his experience as a Taekwondo ...

as Levi, a member of Jesse's "gang" and guitarist at the Gemstone Salvation Center * James DuMont as Chad, a member of Jesse's "gang" whose marriage falls apart after the revelation of his scandalous behavior. * Troy Anthony Hogan as Matthew, a member of Jesse's "gang" * J. LaRose as Gregory, a member of Jesse's "gang" * Valyn Hall as Tiffany Freeman, Baby Billy's much younger and childish wife * Kelton DuMont as Pontius Gemstone, Jesse's second son * Gavin Munn as Abraham Gemstone, Jesse's youngest son *

Scott MacArthur Scott MacArthur (born August 6, 1979) is an American actor and writer. He is best known for playing Jimmy Shepherd, a main character on the Fox comedy series '' The Mick''. Early life MacArthur was born in Chicago. He is an alumnus of The Secon ...

as Scotty (season 1), a stuntman and associate of Gideon's from

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

* Mary Hollis Inboden as Mandy, wife, and later, ex-wife of Chad *

Cullen Moss Cullen Moss (born July 8, 1975) is an American film, television and voice actor. He is best known for his roles on '' One Tree Hill'' and ''The Notebook''. Early life Moss is a native of Winston-Salem, North Carolina who graduated from Mount Ta ...

as Brock, a security guard at the Gemstones' family compound *

Jade Pettyjohn Jade Pettyjohn (born November 8, 2000) is an American actress. She is known for her roles as McKenna Brooks in '' An American Girl: McKenna Shoots for the Stars'', as Summer on the Nickelodeon television series '' School of Rock'', as Lexie Ric ...

as Dot Nancy (season 1), Dale and Gay Nancy's rebellious teenage daughter *

as Thaniel Block (season 2), an investigative reporter writing about the Gemstone family *

as Glendon "Junior" Marsh Jr. (season 2), a professional wrestling promoter who shares a criminal past with Eli. *

as Lyle Lissons (season 2), a prominent Texas televangelist who wants to work with Jesse *

as Lindy Lissons (season 2), Lyle's wife and business partner *

Steve Zahn Steven James Zahn (; born November 13, 1967) is an American actor and comedian. His film roles include ''Reality Bites'' (1994), ''That Thing You Do!'' (1996), ''Stuart Little'' (1999), '' Shattered Glass'' (2003), ''Sahara'' (2005), '' Chicken Li ...

as Peter (season 3), a militia leader *

Kristen Johnston Kristen Angela Johnston (born September 20, 1967) is an American actress. Best known for her work on television sitcoms, she twice won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series for her role as Sally Solomon in ...

as May–May Montgomery (season 3), someone who has history with the Gemstone family

Guest

Virginia Gardner Virginia Elizabeth Gardner is an American actress who played Karolina Dean in the Hulu original series ''Runaways (TV series), Marvel's Runaways'' (2017–2019), Vicky in David Gordon Green's horror film ''Halloween (2018 film), Halloween'' (2018 ...

as Lucy, Scotty's girlfriend and Gideon's friend * M. Emmet Walsh as Grandaddy Roy Gemstone, Eli's father *

Toby Huss Tobias Huss (born December 9, 1966) is an American actor, known for portraying Artie in the Nickelodeon series '' The Adventures of Pete & Pete'' (1993–1996). He is also known for his voice-over work on the long-running animated series ''King of ...

as Dale Nancy, a loose parody of

Dan Cathy Daniel Truett Cathy (born March 1, 1953) is an American businessman. He is the Chairman of the Board and VP of fast-food chain Chick-fil-A, which was founded and expanded by his father, S. Truett Cathy. He has a net worth of $7.1 billion as of ...

, and a congregant and donor to the Gemstones' church *

Marla Maples Marla Ann Maples (born October 27, 1963) is an American actress, television personality, model, singer and presenter. She was the second wife of Donald Trump. They married in 1993, two months after the birth of their daughter Tiffany, and div ...

as Gay Nancy, Dale Nancy's wife * Joe Jonas as himself, a co-investor in Zion's Landing *

Wayne Duvall Wayne Duvall (born May 29, 1958) is an American actor known for appearing as Homer Stokes in ''O Brother, Where Art Thou?'', as well recurring roles as the television series ''Billions'', ''The District'', ''The Leftovers'', ''BrainDead'', ''The R ...

as Glendon Marsh Sr., a professional wrestling promoter and organized crime figure *

Macaulay Culkin Macaulay Macaulay Culkin Culkin (born Macaulay Carson Culkin; ) is an American actor. Often regarded as one of the most successful child actors of the 1990s, he was placed 2nd on VH1's list of the "100 Greatest Kid-Stars". Culkin rose to prom ...

as Harmon Freeman, Baby Billy Freeman's estranged son from a previous marriage, whom he abandoned in 1993. Jeremy T. Thomas portrays a younger Harmon in flashbacks. *

John Amos John Allen Amos Jr. (born December 27, 1939) is an American actor known for his role as James Evans Sr. on the CBS television series ''Good Times''. Amos's other television work includes ''The Mary Tyler Moore Show'', a recurring role as Admi ...

as Buddy Lissons, Lyle's father

Episodes

Season 1 (2019)

Season 2 (2022)

Production

Development

On June 28, 2018, it was announced that HBO had given the production a pilot order. The episode was written and directed by

who is also executive producer alongside

and

David Gordon Green David Gordon Green is an American filmmaker. He directed the dramas ''George Washington'' (2000), '' All the Real Girls'' (2003), and '' Snow Angels'' (2007), as well as the thriller '' Undertow'' (2004), all of which he wrote or co-wrote. In ...

. On October 2, 2018, it was reported that HBO had given the production a series order. On July 1, 2019, it was announced that the series would premiere on August 18, 2019. On September 9, 2019, the series was renewed for a second season. On January 25, 2022, HBO renewed the series for a third season.

Writing

McBride has said he intends the series to run "longer than anything we've done before," including the four-season '' Eastbound & Down'' and the two-season ''

Vice Principals ''Vice Principals'' is an American dark comedy television series starring Danny McBride, Walton Goggins, Kimberly Hébert Gregory, Dale Dickey, Georgia King, Sheaun McKinney, Busy Philipps and Shea Whigham. The co-creators were Danny McBride ...

.'' "If I had my way, when this is done, it's like this epic, sprawling tale, like the fucking ''

Thorn Birds ''The Thorn Birds'' is a 1977 novel by Australian author Colleen McCullough. Set primarily on Drogheda – a fictional sheep Station (Australian agriculture), station in the Australian Outback named after Drogheda, Ireland, the story focuses o ...

''or something," he told ''Polygon''. "You’ll know everybody in this family, cousins, great uncles, all these people. In my eyes, this season is chapter one. It’s just setting the table for who all these people are and what's about to happen." Like McBride's previous television characters, the Gemstones have "an inflated sense of self." McBride comments, "To me, the idea of a minister that sees themself as bigger than God just feels like the ultimate display of that." For the second season, Eli's backstory was inspired by the

Dixie Mafia The Dixie Mafia or Dixie Mob is an American criminal organization composed mainly of white Southerners and based in Biloxi, Mississippi, operating primarily throughout the Southern United States since at least the late 1960s. The group's activitie ...

and the

Memphis Memphis most commonly refers to: * Memphis, Egypt, a former capital of ancient Egypt * Memphis, Tennessee, a major American city Memphis may also refer to: Places United States * Memphis, Alabama * Memphis, Florida * Memphis, Indiana * Memp ...

professional wrestling Professional wrestling is a form of theater that revolves around staged wrestling matches. The mock combat is performed in a ring similar to the kind used in boxing, and the dramatic aspects of pro wrestling may be performed both in the ring or ...

business, two subjects that have long fascinated McBride. He has stated that the Gemstones were originally inspired by Mafia families and that Eli's gangster background informs how the character runs his church in the present. He draws a parallel between wrestling and televangelism in that both businesses are built around "showmanship" and maintaining "

kayfabe In professional wrestling, kayfabe, as a noun, is the portrayal of staged events within the industry as "real" or "true", specifically the portrayal of competition, rivalries, and relationships between participants as being genuine and not staged ...

Casting

Alongside the pilot order announcement, it was confirmed that

and

would star in the pilot. In July 2018, it was announced that

, Tony Cavalero, and

had also joined the pilot's main cast. In May 2021,

and

joined the cast in recurring roles for the second season.

Filming

Principal photography for the pilot was completed in August 2018 in Charleston, South Carolina at Citadel Mall. The

North Charleston Coliseum The North Charleston Coliseum is a multi-purpose arena in North Charleston, South Carolina. It is part of the North Charleston Convention Center Complex, which also includes a performing arts center and convention center. It is owned by the City ...

served as the interior of Gemstone Ministries, while a former

Sears Sears, Roebuck and Co. ( ), commonly known as Sears, is an American chain of department stores founded in 1892 by Richard Warren Sears and Alvah Curtis Roebuck and reincorporated in 1906 by Richard Sears and Julius Rosenwald, with what began a ...

store at Citadel Mall was re-purposed into the Locust Grove Worship Center. (The new church being a former Sears was kept and referenced in the series). In April 2021, HBO confirmed the second season had gone into production, having continued to film mainly in Charleston. In September 2022, it was reported that production on the third season was shut down due to the landfall of Hurricane Ian in South Carolina.

Music

The series is composed by Joseph Stevens, who has collaborated with McBride on his previous television series. An original song "Misbehavin'" became a viral hit after its debut in the episode "Interlude". Performed by Jennifer Nettles and Walton Goggins as their characters Aimee-Leigh and Baby Billy, "Misbehavin'" is the fictional Freeman siblings' most popular song which they performed as children in the 1960s and reprised as adults in 1989. The song was written by McBride, co-star and co-writer Edi Patterson, and composer Stevens, who designed it to mimic a wholesome, old-time country song but with absurd lyrics such as "Runnin' through the house with a pickle in my mouth".

Release

On December 24, 2018, a "first look" still image from the series was released featuring

, and

as Jesse Gemstone, Eli Gemstone, and Kelvin Gemstone, respectively. The series premiered on HBO on August 18, 2019.

Reception

Critical response

For the first season, the

review aggregator A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews of products and services (such as films, books, video games, software, hardware, and cars). This system stores the reviews and uses them for purposes such as supporting a website where users ...

website

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

reported a 75% approval rating with an average rating of 7.1/10, based on 65 reviews. The website's critical consensus reads: "Though it may not win many new converts, fans of Danny McBride will find much to praise in ''The Righteous Gemstones''s darkly hilarious pews."

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created by Jason Dietz, Marc ...

, which uses a weighted average, assigned the season a score of 67 out of 100, based on 20 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". For the second season, Rotten Tomatoes reported a 93% approval rating with an average rating of 7.4/10, based on 14 reviews. The website's critical consensus reads: "''The Righteous Gemstones'' second season can be as messy as its title characters, but it's hard to complain when the results are this uproariously funny. Metacritic assigned the season a score of 83 out of 100, based on 10 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".

Accolades

Notes

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Righteous Gemstones, The 2010s American black comedy television series 2020s American black comedy television series 2019 American television series debuts English-language television shows HBO original programming Evangelical drama television series Television series about dysfunctional families Television series created by Danny McBride Parodies of televangelism Religious comedy television series Television shows set in South Carolina Television series by Home Box Office