The Righteous Gemstones is an American crime comedy-drama 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 concluded on May 4, 2025, after airing four seasons and 36 episodes. It received positive reviews from critics.
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.
In the fourth and final season, the Gemstone children continue to lead the church amidst their turbulent personal lives: Jesse struggles to leave a lasting legacy and keep control of his rebelling sons, while Judy must care for a depressed BJ after he is injured in a pole-dancing accident. Having entered into a romantic relationship with Keefe, Kelvin gains prominence after creating PRISM, an LGBT-friendly ministry. However, things spiral completely out of control for the Gemstones when a lonely Eli enters into a relationship with Lori Milsap, a close friend of Aimee-Leigh. The origins of the Gemstone empire, led by outlaw-turned-reluctant preacher Elijah Gemstone, are likewise explored.
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