Catching Up With The Righteous Gemstones

This Sunday marks the return of The Righteous Gemstones, the unlikely hero left standing amid the rubble of Succession and Barry’s Memorial Day weekend series finales. Entering its third season, Danny McBride’s beloved “Succession, but with televangelists” monolith is not only at its very best, but it’s now HBO’s greatest treasure trove. Obviously, the competition isn’t particularly tough this summer, as the The Righteous Gemstones’ only battle is against The Idol—but Sam Levinson and the Weeknd’s provocative, barrier-pushing drama is not exactly comparable to McBride’s church-going, prestige comedy masterpiece.

Going into the summer of 2023, The Righteous Gemstones continues to anthologize its titular family’s ongoing ascent to the very top of the evangelical kingdom. With the Lissons (played by Eric André and Jessica Lowe) now out of the picture, few zealot conglomerates are left standing. The Gemstones—Jesse (McBride), Judy (Edi Patterson) and Kelvin (Adam Devine)—are still as corrupt and unable to work cohesively with each other as ever, but, in typical fashion, someone beyond their circle is praying for their tragic fall from grace and they must band together to stay afloat. But the real breathtaking piece of The Righteous Gemstones this season is the work from John Goodman as family patriarch Eli. Not so much a late-career renaissance as it is a continuation of his excellent craft, Goodman brings a beautiful delicacy to his scenes—which he very often steals. Never before has the light of The Righteous Gemstones shone so brightly onto Eli, who, even in his lighter role at the church, is the nucleus that binds his family—and the entire show—together.

After an incredible second season, the third chapter’s beginning refuses to lull, instead opting to thrust us back into the complicated and morally dynamic life that the Gemstone family is shaping together. Relationships are pushed to the brink and there’s more absurdity than ever (and a well-choreographed moment that rivals the communal puke scene in Season Two), but it’s the work of Mcbride and Jody Hill that sets The Righteous Gemstones apart from all of its light-hearted contemporaries. And, as the cherry on top of it all, the entire cast remains one of the most-in-sync ensembles on all of television.

Will Season 3 get The Righteous Gemstones on the radar of the Emmys next year? With Ted Lasso, Abbott Elementary, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel and Barry also on the docket, it’s going to take a miracle—but, maybe, with Succession and Barry gone from HBO’s programming schedule, McBride’s opus can find a way. With another perfect and absurd season about to grace our screens, it would be a well-earned nod from the television elite. The show is not spinning its wheels. In fact, there isn’t another comedy airing right now that is stronger, funnier or as thoughtful as The Righteous Gemstones.

A few weeks ago, I sat down with McBride, Goodman, Patterson, Devine, Tim Baltz (BJ), Tony Cavalero (Keefe Chambers), Walton Goggins (Uncle Baby Billy Freeman) and Cassidy Freeman (Amber Gemstone) to talk about the third season of The Righteous Gemstones. Here is an abridged, spoiler-free sample of our conversations—with something bigger to come once the finale arrives this August.

Paste: Walton, in the first two seasons, Uncle Baby Billy reckons a lot with what his life and what his legacy means in the wake of Aimee-Leigh’s death and her greater stardom when she was alive. What is it like to tap into a scene and portray an energy that feeds off the importance and motivations of a character who’s not often on screen with you?

Walton Goggins: To be quite honest with you, I think he’s been forgiven for his transgressions. I think Eli has given him several second, third and fourth chances. [He’s] gainfully employed and he’s working and he’s getting some adulation. He’s a great father and he’s a great husband. He loves his wife, but there’s still a part of him that wants to reach his potential. It’s coming this year, but not from pain—the way that it has in the past. It’s more about “I have value.” I think he’s getting older and so, for him, the clock is ticking and he wants to step up to the podium.

Paste: John, you worked with Steve Zahn on Treme about a decade ago. What was it like reuniting with him on a set again, 10 years later?

John Goodman: It was horrible, nasty little fucker. It was great. You never know what he’s gonna do. And, even if you do know, he does it differently than you think and it’s always surprising. It’s always fresh and it’s always alive. Goddamn, he’s just great to watch.

Paste: Walton, you teamed up with Danny McBride on Vice Principals a while back. What is it about the work that he puts in, the stories he pieces together, that unlocks this really special part of your own acting approach? What makes getting to play someone like Baby Billy or Lee Russell so special for you?

Goggins: I thought you were gonna ask me about Steve Zahn! I love that motherfucker, man. I love him. I love him deeply. To echo what John said, his heart is as big off-screen as it is on-screen. And what comes out of his mouth when no one is looking is as profound as the choices that he makes as an actor on-screen. And I would say the same thing about Danny McBride! I was a fan before I was a friend. There was something about what he says that—albeit, really, really funny—for me, wasn’t the interesting part of what Danny and David [Gordon Green] and Jody [Hill] had been doing for so long. It was about what they were saying and how they were going about saying it.

It is a long way around and it is a lesson, a pill that is easily swallowed, because you’re doing it when you don’t even know it—with your mouth agape from laughter. I just love that man. I love that person. And I love him as a writer. A really good friend of ours was guest writing this year and he was in town when I got there. And he said something about Danny and about leaving the writer’s room with an assignment. He said “Danny said, ‘I don’t want you to write anything. I want you to take the weekend and I want you to write a word. I just want you to sit with it and your imagination.’”

He does the same thing for Eli, he does the same thing for every one of these people. But his advice was “Don’t try to get it right, don’t try to write anything that’s funny. Just understand the pain and insecurity in his heart and see the world from his point of view and meditate on it.” It’s the approach that Danny has to the work that inspires people.

Paste: Adam, after doing seven seasons of Workaholics, you’re no stranger to a show finding its groove after being on-air a while. When it came to filming Season 3, was there a noticeable shift in just how comfortable everyone was together on screen and how you guys could all play off of each other’s energy?

Adam Devine: Yeah, for sure. I’ve been saying that! With a movie, it’s hard. That’s why, when movies work, it’s totally magical. We’ve known each other for years now and we’re really good friends. And it takes a long time to shoot this show, but I really feel like we found it even after the pilot. In season one, I think we were really in a good groove. That groove is even deeper this season, baby. Better than ever!

Paste: Tony, I adore Keefe. He’s great, and we get to see him explore more of his eccentricities this season. What’s it like getting to step into a scene and be this devotional, off-kilter neutral amid a family of religious zealots? Is there a freedom to being just on the outside of the Gemstone drama?

Tony Cavalero: You just nailed it. Very selfishly, it’s so amazing to get to do a lot of the scenes [where Keefe is] there observing. And what a dream to watch John Goodman, Danny McBride, Adam Devine, Steve Zahn—all of these legends—and just get to observe, but also be like, “Wait, I’m in the scene. Be Keefe, do your weird little eccentricies.” It’s a role of a lifetime, to bring this guy to life and it’s just so special in this spazzy, Christian world to get to be the guy who’s [inhales] breathing—or not breathing, because he’s looking at Kelvin’s bod too hard.

Paste: Tim, I’ve always loved the character of BJ, because he has some of my favorite lines in the whole show. What does your collaboration process with Danny [McBride] and Jody [Hill] look like when piecing together some of BJ’s language? Do any of those quips come off the cuff in the heat of a scene?

Tim Baltz: Some of them do. I remember, “the elixirs,” when Baby Billy’s truck falls over, that was off the cuff and Jody was like, “I like that, keep that.” It really comes back to when we were doing the pilot and I first sat down with them. Danny said: “BJ is the eyes of the audience within the show, so you’re reacting to the family’s behavior the way that regular people in the audience will be reacting to this kind of behavior.” I’ve kept that with me the entire time. And, the one [line] that stands out, which was kind of a happy accident, was in the Outback Steakhouse scene [in Season One]. Jody has a Southern accent and, when were finishing that scene, he said “Why don’t you say ‘Good day’ to Judy when you’re leaving, but we were at Outback and I heard his accent and I was like, “Oh, because it’s Australia.” So, at the end, I say [mimics an Australian accent] “Goodbye, Judy.” And he laughed and he was like, “That’s so funny, dude, the way that you pronounced that.” I’m like, “Right, because it’s Australian.” And he goes: “Oh, interesting. Yeah, okay.” I’m like, “Oh, all right. Do you want me to change it?” He’s like, “No, no. Keep doing it!” So there’s definitely collaboration with it, but, all in all, it’s so easy to play together that the collaboration just happens organically in every scene that we do.

Paste: Edi, we see Judy reap what she’s sewn a little bit this season. Her chaos gets leveled out by an emotional, complex storyline between her and BJ. When you have to tap into that heavier place, how do you find the balance between keeping parts of Judy’s essential comedy alive while also maintaining her humanity of going through necessary growth in difficult moments?

Edi Patterson: It’s interesting. The approach—the coming up on it—is always the same for me, in that I think the funniest stuff with Judy and the most authentic, more dramatic stuff is all just true. So, if I just mean it, whether it’s something ridiculous or whether it’s something really heartfelt or sad, I just have to trust the truth of it. I really love Judy and I think she is always doing her best. She just screws up sometimes. I think it helps to come at her with affection, which I definitely do. I think she’s awesome and, dude, she’s trying her best.

Paste: Danny, you were raised in the Bible Belt and you’ve said before that church was a big part of your life growing up. As you continued conceptualizing The Righteous Gemstones into Season 3, how much were you still pulling from your upbringing?

Danny McBride: You know, when it comes to the church, no part of my history with church ever involved me running any churches or anything. But I feel like the familial dynamics and the father/son things, everything is always pulling from what you know or what’s there. I grew up, though, going to Sunday School, so I know all of the Bible stories. So, sometimes, we use those as inspiration for the stories we’re telling.

Paste: Cassidy, some of my favorite moments from this season are your interactions with Edi Patterson. Judy and Amber have very different energies, but they’re both cunning in a similar way. What’s it like diving into a scene with Edi, and how does her approach to playing Judy influence your own approach to playing Amber?

Cassidy Freeman: First of all, Edi has become the love of my life in real life, so she and I are very close and getting to play scenes together is really fun. But, I’ll tell you something, we can be joking behind the scenes and then, when we’re in the scene, I think she might actually kill me. There’s no “wink, wink, we’re in this together,” it’s balls to the wall. Sometimes I end the scene and I’m like, [mouths] “Are you mad at me?” And she’s like, “No!” I’m like, “Oh, my God.” There’s just a ruthlessness to her when she plays Judy that I think is—it inspires Amber, in some ways. It makes Amber bring her A-game, because there’s no other choice. She’ll get eaten.

Paste: Danny, I know you’re a big fan of Sturgill Simpson. What was it like getting him on this season?

McBride: It was awesome. I think Sturgill is a really awesome actor and I’ve been buddies with him for a few years now. When we were trying to fill out who was in this militia, I was talking to him and I was like, “Hey, would you ever want to come down to Charleston and just hangout for a few months and do this little role?” And he was kind enough to say yes. We had a blast, being able to work with him here. I was a fan of his music before I met him and, yeah, he’s just such a good dude. I think he’s so insanely talented and it was awesome to have him come in and mix it up.

Paste: One of the best parts of Gemstones is when you all let a joke run too long. There are a few perfect instances this season. Is perfecting that balance a product of natural energy while shooting, or have you made it to a place in your writing where you’re confident you know how far to take everything?

McBride: I think it’s just relying on your instincts. I do think we’ve been doing it long enough that we, kind of, understand those realms. But, I mean, I think our way to foolproof it is to never limit yourself on the set. While we’re shooting, we’ll push things as far as we can. And then, I think, once you get into the editing, you start making those calls and you can start to really tell when [a joke] has lost its energy, or when staying in a bit longer gets a chuckle. I think that just comes from just doing it, you know, and your own taste being refined.

Freeman: That’s such a cool part of the process, too, that you guys do. Because you do the scene and you think “this is the whole scene” and then, later, you’re like, “Oh, that part went away.” But it makes so much more sense now. It’s like carving the statue that’s already in there.

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Matt Mitchell is Paste‘s assistant music editor. He lives in Columbus, Ohio, but you can find him online @yogurttowne.