“Succession” may be over, but there’s another show still on HBO about a wealthy patriarch with three meddlesome children that seems only to be growing in popularity. And this one shows no signs of ending soon. Creator and star Danny McBride have suggested that he wants “The Righteous Gemstones” to run for years, turning it into a “Dynasty”-esque tapestry of a wealthy Southern family’s strengths and weaknesses. Given that the show’s upcoming nine-episode third season is the comedy’s most consistent and confident to date, this could end up being one of the defining programs of HBO for years to come, and right when they need a consistent critical darling to replace the ones they just lost.
READ MORE: Summer 2023 TV Preview: 40 Must-See Shows To Watch
Returning June 18, “The Righteous Gemstones” is the story of a megachurch run by Eli Gemstone (John Goodman), who has passed control of his billion-dollar operation to his children, Jesse (Danny McBride), Judy (Edi Patterson), and Kelvin (Adam DeVine). The second season centered on the development of a Sandals-esque resort built around the church, and that’s where the new season opens, but this is no tropical chapter in this saga. The Gemstones are soon back in the States, trying to hold their church and family together and discovering that what Daddy did was harder than it looked.
Just as last season brought great guest stars like Eric Roberts and Eric Andre to the fore for a year, season three of “The Righteous Gemstones” gets a new spark from some familiar faces. Shea Whigham plays a race car driver connected to the Gemstones, while Stephen Dorff is great as a smarmy opposing preacher, but the season belongs to Steve Zahn as Peter and Kristen Johnston as May-May Montgomery. Connected to Eli’s deceased wife Aimee-Leigh (Jennifer Nettles), May-May has always had a bit of a grudge against the Gemstones, but it’s nothing compared to Peter’s level of vengeful passion. Zahn plays the leader of a religion-fueled militia like a man who knows this is his last chance to reclaim what the universe has taken from him, and he will do whatever it takes to do so, including spilling Gemstone blood. Lukas Haas and Robert Obers are also both excellent as Peter’s sons, caught between their violent father and what seems like the supporting arms of the Gemstone family.
Of course, the wonderful Walton Goggins is also back this season, trying to convince the Gemstones to fund a “Family Feud”-esque religious game show—it’s a funny bit that also reflects the theme of the season: feuding families—and Tim Baltz gets a legitimately crazy season as Judy’s husband’ BJ,’ as their marriage hits a rocky patch. Cassidy Freeman as Amber, Skyler Gisondo (briefly) as Gideon, Tony Cavalero as Keefe, Gregory Alan Williams as Martin—they’re all back too. If it sounds like too many people, it’s undeniable that the show can sometimes can be a bit too overcrowded for its own good. The writers start some subplots in the first episode involving Dorff and Whigham but then basically push them aside for the majority of the season to center Zahn’s narrative. Given McBride’s comments about multiple seasons, some of the loose plot threads of season three could be set up for the future, but if his show has a weakness, it’s that it can sometimes seem cluttered.
Still, what hysterical clutter it can be. Some of the action sequences involving Zahn’s militia have a stunning formalism that’s reminiscent of the best ‘controlled chaos’ staging in “Barry” over the last couple of seasons, and the overall aesthetic of the program feels more refined than ever. In terms of storytelling, it’s a show that’s constantly faking right and then turning left, landing on a crazier punchline than the set-up even suggested. McBride, David Gordon Green, and Jody Hill have developed this world of characters so confidently at this point that they can bounce them off each other in unexpected directions with more ease, never feeling like they’re desperately trying to get a laugh as much as seeing where they end up. By the characters feeling richer and more well-defined, the audience is more willing to go wherever the story takes them and believe it.
It’s a season that’s willing to take risks, too, particularly in a centerpiece fifth episode that stands among the best of the entire series. A flashback episode, the hysterical chapter reveals how much of the Gemstone’s behavior can be traced back to the youth of characters like Jesse and Judy. Overcoming some questionable de-aging CGI of Goodman, it’s a fantastic piece of writing in that it makes the adult versions of these characters richer by revealing more about their formative years.
More than anything, “The Righteous Gemstones” has a fantastic comedy ensemble. McBride’s schtick is an all-or-nothing proposition, but he pulls back a little on the over-confident throttle this season and often cedes the spotlight to others. Patterson’s timing might be the most underrated on TV, and DeVine gets a few of the biggest laughs of the year, even if it feels like his character suffers the most narratively from the overcrowding. And, once again, Walton Goggins proves himself to be a national treasure, doing some of the best comedy work of his career in this season.
Where do the Gemstones go from here? While they’ll likely never get the press of Logan Roy and his brood, Eli Gemstone, and his family are keeping the family soap opera alive on HBO. The legacy lives on. [B+]