Religion has never been the butt of “The Righteous Gemstones,” says creator Danny McBride.
“I didn’t want jokes about people’s faith,” he explains. “I really wanted the Gemstones to be the butt of the joke. I think by doing that, it allows people of faith to be able to watch the show.”
Never mind the language, the nudity or the violence.
The family Gemstone, from left, Edi Patterson, John Goodman, Danny McBride and Adam DeVine.
The HBO comedy, McBride says, is really about grief. “It’s about losing people and turning to family and figuring out what’s next.”
When the series started, the Gemstones were trying to deal with the death of the family matriarch. Her husband Eli, played by John Goodman, didn’t have his heart in the business and his three children, Jesse (played by McBride), Kelvin (Adam DeVine) and Judy (Edi Patterson), were jockeying for position, hoping they could take the family’s mega-church in a new direction. To do that, however, they had to deal with a lot of obstacles – not the least of which was the family.
McBride and company had their own set of challenges. After the first season, “We shot for two days and then we shut down for a year for COVID,” McBride says. That threatened their ability to complete what they set out to do.
Strikes, a volatile industry and a divided country added to the “Gemstones’” fears.
Now, as the fourth season begins to air, there’s a feeling that the series “stuck the landing,” as DeVine says. Without season-ending cliffhangers or unfinished plots, cast members figure they can move on and – if they so desire – return for a “Gemstones” movie that would bring the mayhem back.
The first family of "Righteous Gemstones" from left, Edi Patterson, Danny McBride and Adam DeVine.
Ringing endorsement
Preachers at real mega-churches have let McBride know his series resonates with those of faith. “The idea of like a false prophet or somebody who is taking advantage of the Word and using it for their own means to enrich themselves has to infuriate anybody,” McBride says.
The Gemstones were just such people – flaunting their wealth, ignoring the Bible and shoving anyone who might get in their way.
In the fourth – and final – season, they learn what matters most and why they need each other.
Danny McBride, as Jesse Gemstone, right, hopes his family can tower as the leading strip-mall church organization in the country in "The Righteous Gemstones."
To get there, the first episode goes back to the 1800s to show how the Gemstone empire got started (and how shaky the ground is that it was built on). Then, when it flips to contemporary times, McBride and company manage to work in pole dancing, a capuchin monkey, jetpacks and a television series about Jesus as a teenager called, “Teenjus.”
That’s the brainstorm of Baby Billy Freeman, a Gemstone relative (played by Walton Goggins) who’s just as corrupt as they are and just as in need of redemption.
Walton Goggins plays Baby Billy Freeman, the brother of Aimee-Leigh Gemstone, the matriarch whose death sets off the series, "The Righteous Gemstones."
While all the characters swear profusely, “it comes from a place … to sort of articulate what they want to say,” McBride says.
That lack of filter adds to the Gemstones’ corrupt nature and helps further the show’s message.
Double trouble
Goggins also had a double for several nude scenes; Goodman and guest star Megan Mullally are shown in the throes of passion.
To show he isn’t a weak man, Judy’s husband B.J. (played by Tim Baltz) takes pole-dancing lessons.
“I took two, maybe three lessons and it’s so freakin’ hard,” Patterson says. “Tim was doing inversions and I’ve just gotta give him props. I can’t believe it.”
The Gemstones, from left, Danny McBride, Adam DeVine and Edi Patterson.
That attitude, that “whatever it takes” mentality, is what has kept “Gemstones” fun and engaging, McBride says. “You’re always being asked to do more than what you did last time.”
When each season looked like it might not happen, McBride saw themes emerge – themes about moving on “and that became apparent that that was the story that we’re telling.”
Now, the actors say they can track their characters’ growth and see the arc that has resulted.
“When you create a show, you need to populate your team with people who get it – and care as well,” McBride says. “When everyone is there and they’re not chasing their own egos or they’re not there to be a bigshot, it becomes very, very easy.”
“The Righteous Gemstones” airs on HBO and streams on MAX.
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