After four seasons of glorious absurdity, HBO’s televangelist satire “The Righteous Gemstones” is wrapping things up—and it’s as hilariously chaotic and surprisingly heartfelt as ever. Created by Danny McBride, the series follows the Gemstones, a wealthy televangelist family whose constant bickering is matched only by their love of greed, fame, and—occasionally—each other. The final season stars McBride, John Goodman, Edi Patterson, Cassidy Freeman, Adam Devine, Tony Cavalero, and Walton Goggins, introducing new faces like Megan Mullally and Sean William Scott.
Joining Bingeworthy for a hilarious farewell to “The Righteous Gemstones” series is creator/star Danny McBride, alongside Cassidy Freeman, Adam Devine, and Tony Cavalero. The conversations covered everything from emotional goodbyes and surprising cameos to the genuine friendships behind their characters’ bizarre antics.
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Right off the bat, McBride explained how the series landed the surprising first-episode cameo by Bradley Cooper in season four. Initially unsure if the Civil War-era prequel episode about the Gemstone family legacy would fill an entire episode, McBride quickly realized it was unique enough to stand on its own. “Once I started dabbling in it, it felt rich enough to warrant kicking off the season with it,” McBride explained. But finding the right actor was crucial. “I explained it should be someone people just love to watch, who’s super talented, somebody like Bradley Cooper,” McBride recalled telling his producers. “They were just like, ‘Well, why don’t you just ask him?’ So I sent him the script, and he quickly responded and said he was down.” Funnily enough, Cooper hadn’t even watched the show and chose not to until after filming “so it wouldn’t influence the performance.”
Throughout its run, “Gemstones” became known for its outrageousness, especially regarding Walton Goggins’ character, Uncle Baby Billy Freeman, who goes fully nude multiple times this season. McBride delighted in clarifying a common misconception. “The beautiful thing about Walton is that he’s never shown his actual penis on the show. It’s always a stunt double penis,” McBride joked. “Another fun fact: it’s never the same penis. We’ve cast different elderly penises—or Peni—for all his scenes.”
Cassidy Freeman, who portrays Amber Gemstone, discussed finding the authentic core amid the ridiculousness, highlighting the relatability beneath the absurdity. “I think the throughline is loyalty, family, being together. Our job is to play it real. That’s what makes it funny and touching,” she said. Playing the “straight man” opposite McBride’s outrageous Jesse Gemstone, Freeman joked, “When they say cut, I’m the crazy one.”
Similarly, Adam Devine and Tony Cavalero—who play fan favorites Kelvin and Keefe—revealed how their characters’ endearing relationship evolved. Initially just comedic relief, the duo’s heartfelt dynamic quickly became central. Devine shared that “Danny saw our real-life relationship and was like, ‘These guys should be gay.’” Devine added humorously, “He saw me and Tony’s very hetero relationship and decided that.”
Devine also teased the further evolution of the characters this season. “I think it was just such a natural progression of how things were. And then we kept getting these scenes where it was just us two in the silliest situations. And then the higher dramatically we played it, the funnier it would be. And yeah, now we have this awesome arc; I just cannot wait for the fans to get to see Season four—it’s a big Kelvin and Keefe season.”
With the series concluding, the cast reflected on taking home mementos. “I took a church pew, the Kelvin and Keefe rocking chairs, and the Golden Bible,” McBride admitted, while Devine humorously stated, “I very much did not keep anything. I hated the way Kelvin dressed.”
As for what’s next, McBride teased taking some downtime after ‘Gemstones,’ but knowing his prolific output, fans likely won’t have to wait long.
Finally, Devine also addressed the abrupt cancellation of the “Workaholics” movie at Paramount+ and didn’t mince words while also teasing a new show featuring the “Workaholics” cast: “We’re pitching another show, but it won’t be ‘Workaholics.’ That [‘Workaholics’ movie] script is great, and it sucks it won’t see the light of day, but that’s Paramount+. They’re a garbage company, and the executives should rot in hell. Fuck them.”
The Playlist presents “The Righteous Gemstones” Cast Film/TV Recommendation playlist:
- Cassidy Freeman: “The Wild Robot” (2023)
- Danny McBride: “The White Lotus” (2021– )
- Adam Devine: “Severance” (2022– ), “1923” (2022– )
- Tony Cavalero: “The Pitt” (2024), “Paradise” (2024), “Dexter: Original Sin” (2021–2022), “The White Lotus” (2021– )
The final season of “The Righteous Gemstones” is streaming new episodes weekly on Max. Listen to the full interviews below:
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