by Rowan Wood, Contributing Writer
I was genuinely shocked when I fell in love with The Righteous Gemstones. Sure, Danny McBride has a great track record with HBO series (Eastbound & Down, Vice Principals), but a comedy series about a megachurch led by John Goodman? On paper, that doesn’t necessarily sound like a recipe for instant success.
But boy, was I wrong. From the cold open of the very first episode, The Righteous Gemstones has made me laugh time and time again, and provoked genuine conversation from my non-religious self with my similarly non-religious family about the ethics and inner workings of megachurches and televangelists. McBride strikes again.
Three years after its first season, the Gemstone family has returned, now with even more scandals, trouble, and excitement! In typical sophomore season fashion, there’s an emphasis on revelations (no pun intended), and a focus on characters who may not have been at the forefront in the previous season. Eli (Goodman), the patriarch of the family, gets the spotlight for the the majority of the nine-episode run, and his story arc ended up being one of my favorites the show has done thus far. A flashback episode mid-season cements it, answering the questions we’ve been asking while at the same time raising new ones. The story developments aren’t exactly surprising, but they are well-executed, and work very well with the characters as they’ve been presented to us.
New to the cast this season is Eric Andre as Lyle Lissons, a televangelist who seeks to partner with the Gemstones on a new business opportunity; Eric Roberts as Junior, an old friend of Eli’s; and Jason Schwartzman as Thaniel Block, a journalist who seeks to expose the Gemstones’ secrets. They’re all strong additions, building on the already well-established pedigree of comedic actors from season one.
With all of these added factors, lesser shows might be in danger of losing their edge and their effectiveness, but The Righteous Gemstones is able to use these complications to its advantage, delivering a season even better and funnier than its predecessor. Everything excellent about season one is still there — the sibling banter between Jesse (McBride), Judy (Edi Patterson), and Kelvin (Adam Devine) Gemstone is ever-present and the awkward, but clever writing has never been stronger. Walton Goggins is back in full force as their uncle Baby Billy Freeman, delivering perhaps one of the best performances of his career.
Point being, The Righteous Gemstones is back and better than ever. To say much more would betray some truly excellent story turns, but it’s well worth watching. Here’s hoping there won’t be another three-year gap between seasons two and three.
Grade: A
You can follow Rowan Wood on Twitter and Letterboxd.