Danny McBride, the creator of HBO’s acclaimed comedyThe Righteous Gemstones, has shed light on his decision to conclude the show with its recent fourth season finale. The series debuted in 2019 and follows the Gemstone family, a famous and affluent televangelist dynasty in South Carolina, led by patriarch Eli Gemstone (John Goodman). And now that the series is finally over, McBride is breaking down all of his thoughts about the maybe-not-so-holy series.
During a recent conversation withIndieWire’sFilmmaker Toolkitpodcast, McBride, who also stars in the series as Jesse Gemstone, shared that the decision to bring the show to a close with its fourth season wasn’t set in stone.
“Even as I approached this season, I wasn’t sure if I was going to make it the final season or not. This is a very awesome show to be able to work on. It’s in my backyard. I love all the people I’m working with.”
However, as McBride started to explore the possible storylines for the season, it became apparent that the show was coming to a natural end:
“But as I started looking for ideas for this season, it was pretty obvious that a lot of the ideas I was gravitating toward were about closure and about ending. So I just followed that.”
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McBride says he never “made any sort of announcement to the crew or to the cast when we started that this would be the last one.” That was due to him thinking that it was possible that another idea would emerge, or “some sort of guidepost that says that this story deserves more.” That didn’t happen, and McBride said it just became “more and more apparent” that the Gemstone story was wrapping up.
‘The Righteous Gemstones’ Finale: A Shooting, a Monkey, and a Wedding
The concluding episode, “That Man of God May Be Complete,” which aired on Sunday, May 4, featured the Gemstones siblings — Jesse (McBride), Judy (Edi Patterson), and Kelvin (Adam Devine) — surviving a shooting by Corey Milsap (Seann William Scott). McBride shared in an interview withVarietythat he considered a darker ending for the evangelist family.
“There were always thoughts about, ‘Does the church go down? Do they get arrested? And like, ultimately, for me, I don’t know if I really want to see that. The design for me is, I want people to watch this again, and I want it to be something that ultimately feels fun.”
Alongside the dramatic shooting, the series finale was filled with hilarious and over-the-top moments, including a life-saving (and self-pleasing) monkey and a wedding between Kelvin (Adam DeVine) and Keefe (Tony Cavalero).
The Righteous Gemstones’ talented castincludes Goodman, McBride, Patterson, DeVine, Cassidy Freeman, Cavalero, Tim Baltz, Gregory Alan Williams, Skyler Gisondo, Walton Goggins, and Jennifer Nettles. All four seasons of the comedy are available to stream on Max.
McBride, who isalso known for his work onVice PrincipalsandEastbound & Down, also served as a writer and director for the critically laudedThe Righteous Gemstones. He is next developing an adaptation of Grady Hendrix’sThe Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampiresalongside the author and Patterson.
