"megachurch"

2019 · 4 Seasons · HBO · Comedy-Drama, Crime

The Righteous Gemstones is Danny McBride's most ambitious project, a sprawling satire of megachurch culture wrapped in family crime drama and held together by an ensemble that commits fully to the absurdity. John Goodman anchors the chaos as patriarch Eli Gemstone, giving the show an emotional center that it needs more than it realizes, while McBride, Adam Devine, and Edi Patterson build comedy from their characters' toxic entitlement and desperate need for approval. Four seasons is a long run for a show this specific in its targets, and some seasons are sharper than others. But the best episodes combine outrageous comedy with genuine family pathos, and the show's willingness to go dark without losing its sense of fun makes it one of HBO's most entertaining comedies.