The Righteous Gemstones centers on a family of televangelists and megachurch pastors led by widowed patriarch Eli Gemstone. Eli and his bickering children, Jesse, Judy, and Kelvin, live opulent lifestyles funded by their congregations' tithing, and work to expand their network of megachurches, making enemies of the pastors of existing churches, such as Rev. John Wesley Seasons. This expansion leads them to reconnect with Eli's estranged brother-in-law, "Baby" Billy Freeman, whom they tap to lead their newest church. The first season also focuses on a blackmail plot orchestrated against Jesse by a trio of masked figures who threaten to expose videos of his lecherousprivate life, hatched by Jesse's estranged son, Gideon.
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. 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."
Casting
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.
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.
Reception
The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported a 77% approval rating with an average rating of 7.09/10, based on 60 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 Gemstoness darkly hilarious pews." Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the season a score of 67 out of 100, based on 19 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".
