Hallelujah: The Righteous Gemstones Is Coming Back For Season 4 On HBO
Season 3 of "The Righteous Gemstones" isn't over quite yet, but HBO has already seen the light when it comes to the comedy series about a dysfunctional evangelical empire: The show has just been renewed for a fourth season. This shouldn't come as a huge surprise since the Danny McBride-created show is a raucous crowd-pleaser whose most recent season earned a 100% Rotten Tomatoes critics' score, but it's still exciting news for fans of the show. McBride's previous comedy series, "Vice Principals," was canceled after just two seasons, so it's great that HBO is letting "The Righteous Gemstones" spread its (very silly and stupid) word for at least one more season.
"The Righteous Gemstones" has actually hit higher viewership metrics in season 3 than in either of its earlier seasons, according to a press release from the network. Recent episodes are averaging 4.9 million viewers, making it McBride's most-watched show. For reference, "Succession," HBO's best recent show whose cultural footprint feels almost unquantifiably huge, only snagged 2.9 million sets of eyes for its series finale, per The New York Times. It seems the wild hijinks of the immature, greedy Gemstone family are even more entertaining to HBO viewers than those of the Roy family.
HBO programming executive vice president Amy Gravitt commented on the news of the renewal via press release, and called season 3 "truly biblical," which makes me all the more intrigued to find out exactly how it'll end later this week. The current season has seen the three grown Gemstone kids attempt to take over their father's empire, a plan that has been foiled at every turn by a Steve Zahn-led radical militia, the appearance of Eli's sister May-May (Kristen Johnston), Judy's affair, Kelvin and Keefe's failed attempt to save the world from smut, and more.
What's next for the Gemstones?
At this point, it seems equally likely that the season will end with the Gemstone kids coming into their own as church leaders — which, given how inept they are, would be a fitting bit of commentary on the state of religious greed in America — or crashing and burning harder than ever. I, for one, am okay with whichever option gives us more Skyler Gisondo. While his Gideon Gemstone is one of the more straight-faced characters in the show, the comedy series' winning ensemble also includes McBride, Adam Devine, Edi Patterson, John Goodman, Walton Goggins (another actor I'm campaigning to see even more of next season), Cassidy Freeman, Tim Baltz, Jennifer Nettles, and Tony Cavalero. The new season has also featured an impressive slate of guest stars, including Zahn, comedian Iliza Shlesinger, and actors Stephen Dorff and Shea Whigham.
While the renewal news is exciting, it's worth noting that "The Righteous Gemstones" season 4 likely won't be coming anytime soon, given that writers and actors are still on strike in an ongoing fight for fair pay and treatment. Last we heard, SAG-AFTRA national executive director and chief negotiator Duncan Crabtree-Ireland said the AMPTP was still stonewalling the unions on key issues (per Deadline), so until the strikes are resolved, we'll have to make do with enjoying "Gemstones" season 3 and reliving past seasons on HBO and Max. The two-episode season finale is set to air on July 30, 2023.