User reviews

The Righteous Gemstones is truly one of the funnier shows that's came out in years! I didn't have any idea that it was going to be as funny as it was so I put off watching it and finally just caught up and I'm so glad I did. It's filled with sophomoric humor but there's so much more to this show than that. It surprisingly has a heart to this show. It gives you a hilarious look at how even religion is a business. Every cast member is hilarious but Danny McBride is the true star as he is in most things. He is incredibly underrated as a comedian. He's always a scene stealer in every movie he does and this, Eastbound & Down and Vice Principals are classic tv shows. If you're a fan of Danny McBride type comedy then this is absolutely the show for you. It will literally make you laugh out loud.

The Righteous Gemstones is flat out hilarious. It's another comedy created by the always funny Danny McBride. I'm not kidding when I say that every episode is hilarious. I've had to watch episodes twice because I was laughing so much that I missed parts. Every character on the show is funny and brings a different kind of comedy to it. HBO rarely puts out bad shows and this is no different. It's actually probably underrated. All you have to do is read through the reviews to see how much people liked this show. If you like McBride's other stuff like Eastbound and Down or Vice Principals then you'll love this too.

Baby Billy is the best character in years! The story is actually very good. The comedy (which I was thinking I may grow tired of Danny Mcbride's shtick) was so funny! Easy material to draw from, but it doesn't shame the religious viewer.

I've been waiting for this show ever since the sneak peak image of the cast released a couple months ago and frankly, I am not disappointed, Danny McBride is hilarious and so is the rest of the cast. There of course will be some negative reviews on here saying that it's anti Christian propaganda, but I don't see it as that at all. This is a satire on how power of any sort can be corrupted. HBO has landed another great comedy, excited to keep watching.

If you enjoyed the dark humour of Vice Principals then you'll enjoy this. Everyone at the top of their game.

Every scene is great and much of it is funny! I noticed it got hate already, that's unfortunate, I love anything with Danny McBride! "Party Man" lol I love that line and I am excited for more of this silly show.

This is a show about a family of preaches who preach the gospel but they sure don't live by it. The main story revolves around a blackmail scheme and the siblings (who have a love hate relationship with one another) try to save the family reputation without paying the money. Along the way, we learn about the family through flashbacks that show how they became so broken. This show has laugh too loud moments and also a lot of heart. Big props to Danny McBride!

Fortunate enough to see premiere early. It's a winner. Not only funny but also engaging story. Danny McBride Jody Hill and David Gordon green are a dream team. Encourage everyone to watch it live each Sunday at 10 on HBO

Great cast! Loved the first episode and if it's any indication of the entire season, then you know it's a great series. Great HBO series as usual.

Not sure if Danny was going to be able to top Vice Principles and Eastbound and Down. Its good, although I had reservations after episode 1. But thankfully it gets better and although not gut wrenching funny as Eastbound, its still good.

Like the last reviewer I tried and tried but found this show increasingly difficult to watch because the characters are ALL so deplorable. Just like every Danny McBride vehicle before it , I can sum it up very easily: Grown ups behaving like children. In this spoiled rotten , idiotic children . I had to turn off 1st season because Edi Patterson's "Judy" was just SO grating every single time she opened her mouth. I don't enjoy schadenfreude and this is pretty much all this show contains honestly . I loved the concept of parody of the fake Christian mega church types but this is lacking in any kind of redeeming qualities/character/storylines. I laughed out loud a few times but more so I found myself thinking "gosh I really hope there aren't this many morons out here in the world -especially on television influencing the masses." The only saving grace is always the infallible Walton Goggins, a true master of his craft, he kills every role he plays and Baby Billy is no exception. I really wanted to love this show because I only have 2 seasons of "Loudermilk " to replay as my comfort show every week , but again , redemption is present there. This is toilet humor at its best I guess you could say...

Love it! Been waiting for a few months to watch. It didn't disappoint. It's a caricature of these Television Televangelists. Which we've all seen through out the years. Exaggerated? Yes, but we all know they line their pockets with the weak minded. And tax free as well. I'm a big fan of Danny McBride. And I hope it gets picked up for a 2nd season.

Enjoyed this on a whole but series 2 is lacking. A few episodes are just filler and pointless it worth a watch but just becomes cheap in the end. A shame.

This is a very pretentious series, it's referred to as "comedy" but the only jokes it has are about sexual adventures (that's the poorest kind of joke there is) the writing is so POOR, the jokes aren't funny, the plot is inconsistent, the cast is good but that doesn't save this show from being crap maybe it pleases some people for making fun of certain people's religion or for having racist portrayals of people from the south, besides that it's an extremely poor series with an HBO label.

Funny, great acting from everyone involved, especially the Gemstone kids and their evil uncle are outstanding. I was waiting for a third Vice Principles season, but this series is at least as good. Love the transparent selfish characters and the great storyline. Danny McBride deverses an Emmy! Great entertainment.

"HBO" has just maybe been blessed with it's best comedy series of all time! Praise the new series "The Righteous Gemstones" which is an excellent take on how the good lord world of religion has become. It's simple the holy world is just a money making business, as the mighty dollar promotes the gospel! Growing up and as many remember and see in our own churches and little towns these things ringed so true! And this new twisted comedy series puts the spin on religion so perfect!

Created by Danny McBride("Vice Principals") who had me sold from the start stars as Jesse who lives in a famous and powerful televangelist family who spread the word with greed and money! And his siblings are also part of the church as brother Kelvin(Adam Devine) might be a lover of men among himself! Enter the king the great and powerful leader that's Eli Gemstone(the super and great John Goodman) who rules the throne during church. Plus in some laugh out scenes Walton Goggins is funny and crazy as money hungry Baby Billy Freeman a rival preacher and family friend.

The series captures scandal, bribes, and most of all power struggle and mistrust in the church all so well as those themes have become so common with religion! Also it's take and spin on sex, adultery, and the current culture is in top form as the dialogue is just so funny! It's laugh out so shout it out and praise this new "HBO" series "The Righteous Gemstones" it is a comedy that's heaven sent it's a bold brash funny look at how gospel mixes so well with greed, scandal, money, and power struggle.

Incredible clever writing! Funny beyond belief. VERY well produced! And the acting is TOP NOTCH!!! John Goodman is phenomenal (and looking fit), and Danny McBride and Adam Devine are hilarious and just a hoot to watch (as is, honestly, the whole cast)! Everything about this series makes for a great show! If there's only one complaint, a half hour is NOT enough!! Awesome show!!

NO SPOILERS HERE!! Just wanted to say I was expecting less and was so surprised at the 1st episode, I need to watch episode 2....in fact, my wife and I can't wait to see what happens next. The whole production quality, cinematography and sound, as well as the quirky characters that add some dark humour to this original storyline. Love it!!

I grew up in a megachurch, both my parents were pastors. So I was super curious how this show would play out. So far, the first episode was dead on. You can really tell that Danny Mcbride and crew researched or experienced these things personally. I could not stop laughing, they nailed it. Just finished the second episode and I like that it's already branching out a bit. Great show.

Wonderfully talented ensemble cast! Everyone brings something to the table.

Danny McBride never fails to deliver, in my humble opinion.

I'm always pleasantly surprised by how enthralling McBride HBO productions can be. Like Vice Principles and Eastbound & Down, this series packs a comedic punch while also maintaining a shroud of mystery around the main plot.

I've been a fan of Danny McBride since before Hot Rod and Land of the Lost, but he's really becoming a decorated professional. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

This could have been great but the 3 central characters, the gemstone adult children, are so badly written that it's actually insulting to the viewer, coupled with the severely overacted performances of McBride, Patterson and DeVine (Jesse, Judi and Kevin) and you actually try to ignore the protagonists completely. Special mention to Kevin Baltz for joining in with a ludicrous performance as a secondary character BJ.

However Walt Goggins as uncle baby Billy is a complete joy to watch. John Goodman excels and is utterly believable as a mega church founder. Cassidy Freeman is also brilliant as the willey wife Amber.

McBride and the other writers should have leaned more towards satire rather than farce, toned down the outrageous stupidity and they would have created a sitcom classic.

I couldn't help wondering if the annoying OTT unbelievable characterisations are an attempt to not cause offence in a bible belted country like the USA. Had things been toned down a bit would it be too close to the bone?

In the beginning you see a sign posted at the entrance to the Gemstone mansion reading, "Blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of Heaven." followed by "No Trespassing" - funny, haha, perhaps a sarcastic warning. As to "poor in spirit" the usual interpretation of "humble" makes no sense as a rationalization especially when compared with the more precise language in the other seven Beatitudes. Anyway, overall a humorous, tragic, and honest portrayal of human greed, etc. through the selling of forgiveness & eternity in the evangelical community. As to the "Gemstone" name is it a symbolic metaphor for the value we place in dazzling, brilliant perfection as just a pretentious superficiality.

If I were you I'd definitely watch season 1 of this. It's a well-written and comical show about the dark side of the TV pastor family starring DannyMcBride. Need I say more?

And like the title says, the 2nd season I feel ruins the vibe of the show and continues the arch in a way I didn't ask for nor need.

Season 1 stands out as a great season on its own, just like Mr. Robot did. So go ahead and watch this!

Everything Danny McBride writes turns to comedic gold in my opinion, and his mix of extremely angry and deadpan way of delivering lines has a shortcut to my heart. It has been that way ever since Pineapple Express.

Is this a satire? School humor is just ridiculous. I understand they intended to do a satire on teleevangelists, but that's just a backdrop filling, filling and more filling boring characters you can't root for and have no other goal than to get even richer blah blah blah Judy's sexual language is just ridiculous and not even the least bit funny, Kelvin is terribly unbearable, his bodyguard is infinitely more charismatic than he is, Jesse is just plain uncharismatic and the worst and unfortunately the one with the most screen time a show full of racist stereotypes from southerners HBO gets poorer with each passing year.