HBO’s Best Show Is Finally Returning This Summer
The third season of Righteous Gemstones is premiering this summer on HBO.
It’s been more than a year since we last saw an episode of HBO’s hilarious televangelist comedy The Righteous Gemstones, following the antics of the less-than-upstanding Gemstone family and their megachurch. However, even though HBO has been canceling shows on a regular basis, it turns out the company still has a love for the goings-on at the Gemstone Christian Center. Deadline reports that season 3 of the series will premiere this summer.
The premiere screening of The Righteous Gemstones season 3 will take place at the ATX TV Festival in Austin, Texas. The annual event, which has been held since 2012, is often home to cast reunions, Q&A events, and industry discussions. After the screening, Danny McBride will have a public conversation alongside other, as-yet-unannounced, cast members.
The brainchild of writer/producer/actor Danny McBride, The Righteous Gemstones follows the gemstone family as they try to keep their megachurch and televangelist business afloat amid numerous scandals, conflicts, and personal dramas. The supposedly-righteous family finds itself up to its ears in tax fraud, drug use, blackmail, money laundering, and extramarital affairs, all while trying to run the massive church that has made them wealthy and powerful. It’s all played for laughs, with the over-the-top conflicts leading to absurd and satirical comedy.
The Righteous Gemstones stars John Goodman as Dr. Eli Gemstone, the head of the family who founded the church. A charismatic preacher and shrewd businessman, Dr. Gemstone is portrayed as a man with greedy, manipulative tendencies who is fiercely protective of his family’s reputation. Goodman, who is famous for his roles in Roseanne and The Big Lebowski, has been praised for his ability to lend depth to the flawed character.
Danny McBride, known for his roles in Eastbound & Down, This is the End, and Pineapple Express, plays Eli’s eldest son, Jesse, in The Righteous Gemstones. His off-kilter behavior is established from the very beginning of the series when we see Jesse getting blackmailed with a video of him snorting cocaine while his naked friends cavort with prostitutes. Throughout the show, he has to deal with living up to his father’s expectations while struggling with drug addiction, infidelity, and a strained relationship with his wife.
The naive, innocent, and unconfident youngest son, Kelvin Gemstone, is played by Workaholics star Adam Devine. Widely seen as the family’s black sheep, the optimistic Kelvin is the youth minister at his father’s church. In The Righteous Gemstones, Kelvin goes out of his way to help the church and his family as they deal with their often-absurd conflicts, despite being regularly teased by his brothers and sister.
The sister, Judy Gemstone, is played by Knives Out actress Edi Patterson. Judy, the youngest sister, feels the need to compete with her brothers despite being given a dead-end job at the megachurch.
The Righteous Gemstones isn’t the only show that HBO will be premiering at the ATX TV Festival. Season 2 of Cruel Summer, HBO’s thriller anthology series, will also premiere at the event, which will take place from June 1 through June 4, 2023.
