The Best Show You Aren’t Watching: The Righteous Gemstones

There’s a really great series on HBO that I have been loving for the last few years. It tells the story of a power struggle within a family of spoiled, rich, relatively clueless individuals all fighting to gain control of the family name, fortune, and to receive daddy’s blessing over their siblings. There are three main characters – the older brother, convinced he should be the rightful heir because he’s done things the right way (had kids, followed in dad’s footsteps) and because he’s the eldest boy; the middle sister, who married a guy she thinks she can manipulate and push around in hopes of using him as a stepping stone to presenting the perfect duo to the world; and the screw-up youngest, who is confused about who he is, what he wants, and how he should go about getting it. And there’s the dad, hoping to get to enjoy his retirement if only one of his screw-up children would show any amount of fortitude for the family business and prove to him that they can take it over. And no, I’m not talking about Succession.

Having just completed its stellar third season, The Righteous Gemstones, is the perfect series to fill that Succession shaped hole in your TV viewing schedule – and not just because the initial set-up of the series (a patriarch of a family dynasty is looking to see which of his three children should succeed him – sorry, Connor, there’s no overlooked son in this one), but because this is such a silly, funny, and outrageous series it will make you see the darkly comedic elements of Succession in a new light. The tantrums thrown by the Roy children pale so much in comparison to the most outrageous ones undertaken by the Gremstones that you will start to think that perhaps the backstabbing and double-crossing in Succession wasn’t all that bad in the end (and that’s saying something).

The Righteous Gemstones cast is chock full of comedic heavy hitters. John Goodman takes on the role of Eli Gemstone, the patriarch of the Gemstone family megachurch and ministry (yes, that’s right, while the Roys’ financial success stemmed from media, the Gemstones have a megachurch and religious flock to tend to – and the kids treat their perceived birthright with as much tender loving care as the Roy children do theirs), a widower who desperately misses his late wife (Jennifer Neetles plays the late Aimee-Leigh in a series of flashbacks throughout the series) and who truly wants his children to become serious people, stop squabbling, and understand that this is a true calling for their father and not just a cash cow to be milked for their own enjoyment. Our trio of unserious people are Danny McBride (who is also the executive producer and co-creator) as the eldest, Jesse – the most arrogant and debauched of the three, Edi Patterson as Judy, the Gemstone’s only girl – and the most vicious of the trio by a long shot, and Adam DeVine as Kelvin, the baby of the family who is also the most immature and impulsive. Surrounding our central four characters are a host of interesting – and hilarious – supporting ones, including Cassidy Freeman’s Amber (wife of Jesse, and the smartest of the younger generation), Tim Baltz’s BJ (Judy’s relatively docile and henpecked husband), and Walter Goggins as Baby Billy Freeman (the scheming brother of the late Aimee-Lee and the source of so many of the series’ best comedic moments).

Now, you might think that the conceit of three adult children who try to take what they can from the family business, while fighting over their right to succeed their father as the head of the church, might get stale after awhile. It didn’t for Succession, and it absolutely doesn’t for The Righteous Gemstones. The situations we find our central characters in – whether it’s a cheating scandal, a quasi-homoerotic friendship that everyone can see is more genuine and deep than the two characters involved in it, or just old-fashioned greed – continue to feel fresh and hilarious. Each of the three seasons has come with an overarching arc – some scheme that the Gemstones become embroiled in that threatens not only themselves but also the church and ministry itself – with each episode shedding light on the various characters, their wants and needs, and their very human failings (there are so many failings, folks, all of which will leave you laughing).

But the most important thing within the series is that the writers never lose sight of the humanity within these exaggerated characters. They might act larger than life (listen to a few of Judy Gemstone’s rants and you’ll see what I mean), but there’s a spark of humanity lurking under their spoiled exteriors. They might not be empathetic creatures, but they do love each other (well, most of them love some of them – there’s still some distrust amongst the gang). They care about those closest to them and everyone in this cast of characters cares a great deal for Eli Gemstone and wants to obtain his love and acceptance – even if they go about it all wrong at times. At the heart of the series, this is a story about a family trying to figure out how to grow together and how each person fits within the overall make-up of the family. Where the Roys would genuinely destroy one another in hopes of grasping the brass ring, the Gemstones ultimately wouldn’t throw their family away in hopes of achieving the ultimate prize of power. Which is what makes the comedy work – you have to root for these characters a little bit in order to find the funny in their actions. You can’t simply hate them and expect that to be enough.

It’s a sharp, complex, and laugh-out-loud funny series. And you’re missing out on a hell of a lot by giving this one a pass. With, as of this writing, the WGA and SAG/AFTRA strikes continuing with no end in sight, now is the perfect time to catch up on some shows you might have missed over the past few years. And The Righteous Gemstones is the perfect series to move to the top of that list.

All three seasons of The Righteous Gemstones are streaming on Max. The series has been renewed for a fourth season.