The Righteous Gemstones

The Righteous Gemstones is an American comedy television series created by Danny McBride that premiered on August 18, 2019, on HBO. The series follows a famous and dysfunctional family of televangelists. McBride also stars in the series, alongside Adam DeVine, Edi Patterson, Tony Cavalero, Cassidy Freeman, Gregory Alan Williams, Tim Baltz, and John Goodman. The series has aired four seasons, with its fourth and final season premiering on March 9, 2025. The series has received positive reception and has been nominated for a number of awards.
The Righteous Gemstones depicts a family of South Carolina-based televangelists and megachurch pastors led by widowed patriarch Eli Gemstone. Eli and his immature adult children, Jesse, Judy and Kelvin, lead opulent lives funded by the church.
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 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 to develop a Christian timeshare resort. The family faces threats including investigative journalist Thaniel Block, an old friend from Eli's past, and a mysterious group of motorcycle-riding assassins.
In the third season, Eli scales back his involvement in the church, handing over greater control to his children. Eli's impoverished sister, May–May, resurfaces, asking for his assistance in keeping her family safe from her ex-husband, Peter, a vengeful Christian militia leader who holds a decades-long grudge against the Gemstones. Meanwhile, betrayals threaten to end the relationships of Judy and BJ and Kelvin and Keefe.
On June 28, 2018, it was announced that HBO had given the production a pilot order. The episode was written and directed by Danny McBride who is also executive producer alongside Jody Hill and David Gordon Green. 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. On July 27, 2023, HBO renewed the series for a fourth season.
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. "If I had my way, when this is done, it's like this epic, sprawling tale, like the fucking Thorn Birds 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 and the Memphis professional wrestling 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".
Alongside the pilot order announcement, it was confirmed that Danny McBride and John Goodman would star in the pilot. In July 2018, it was announced that Edi Patterson, Adam DeVine, Cassidy Freeman, Tony Cavalero, and Tim Baltz had also joined the pilot's main cast. In May 2021, Jason Schwartzman, Eric Roberts, and Eric André joined the cast in recurring roles for the second season.
Principal photography for the pilot was completed in August 2018 in Charleston, South Carolina, at Citadel Mall. The North Charleston Coliseum served as the interior of Gemstone Ministries, while a former Sears 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. Filming for the third season wrapped in December 2022.
Filming for the fourth season began in May 2024 and ended in early October 2024.
The series music is composed by Joseph Stephens, 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 Stephens, 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".
On December 24, 2018, a "first look" still image from the series was released featuring Danny McBride, John Goodman, and Adam DeVine as Jesse Gemstone, Eli Gemstone, and Kelvin Gemstone, respectively. The series premiered on HBO on August 18, 2019. The second season premiered on January 9, 2022. The third season premiered on June 18, 2023.
The first season was released on DVD, on April 14, 2020.
For the first season, the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported a 76% approval rating with an average rating of 7.1/10, based on 66 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, 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 89% approval rating with an average rating of 7.5/10, based on 19 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 82 out of 100, based on 11 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".
For the third season, Rotten Tomatoes reported a 100% approval rating with an average rating of 8/10, based on 14 reviews. The website's critical consensus reads: "The Righteous Gemstones has its mixture of broad comedy and genuine pathos down pat, chapter and verse, and it preaches a riotously funny gospel in what might be its darkest installment yet." Metacritic assigned the season a score of 80 out of 100, based on 9 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".
For the fourth season, Rotten Tomatoes reported a 100% approval rating with an average rating of 8.9/10, based on 17 reviews. The website's critical consensus reads: "The Righteous Gemstones takes a bow with plenty of heavenly inspiration left in the tank, delivering a riotous final season that goes out on a holy high note." Metacritic assigned the season a score of 89 out of 100, based on 11 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".