Why Danny McBride decided to end Righteous Gemstones without telling his co-stars
Not following the career of Danny McBride? If you're a fan of comedy, you really should be. Over the past 20 years, particularly in his work with HBO, he's become poet laureate of the American id. In Eastbound and Down (2005-2009), Vice Principals (2014-2016) and The Righteous Gemstones (2018-present), he has created some of the funniest, raunchiest and best-crafted shows of the 21st century. The hallmark of great comedy is timing, and McBride has always known instinctually where to place the punchline. And while he has said in the past that The Righteous Gemstones was built to run forever – McBride estimated a 72-season run – it was while writing season four that he knew this was where it had to end. 'I could just kind of feel it,' McBride tells The National. 'I kept coming to resolutions, and themes of moving on. But when we got to set, I didn't announce to everyone this is the end. If we didn't stick the landing, I wanted to leave myself the chance to do it again. But then, as we got closer to the ending, I felt we had done what we needed to do with this story. 'It's sad. I love all these people, and it's sad to look back at what you have created together, knowing that it's the end of a chapter. It's a whole bushel of emotions. But at the end of the day, I felt good about it. It was an awesome experience – and so much fun to tell this story with this group of people.' What is this story exactly? Think Succession set at a megachurch in the American south. McBride plays Jesse Gemstone, the eldest son in a world-famous televangelist family who made millions preaching values they do not uphold behind closed doors. And when their secrets are under threat of exposure, the family bands together like never before. McBride's earlier work was more character-focused, but Righteous Gemstones is tightly plotted and over-the-top, full of twists and turns and big swings. That is probably because McBride himself has become so versatile, having written the last three Halloween films as well as the most recent Exorcist reboot. As a result, he has crafted a show unlike any other, which has left his fellow stars, even the tenured performer John Goodman, using acting muscles they did not know they had. 'It's been great because there's a lot to deal with here that I've never had to deal with before in any other character. It's a new field for me, and because of that, it never gets boring,' says Goodman, who plays the family's patriarch, Dr Eli Gemstone. Goodman is putting it lightly. His co-star Tim Baltz, who plays BJ, lays out a few more examples that make it clear just how wild this show's ride really has become in its four seasons. 'This covers so much more ground than a lot of other characters in other shows do. Just speaking for myself, I got baptised in what looked like the '80s Dune movie. I learned how to roller skate. I fought a man naked. I learned how to pole dance. I kiss a capuchin monkey. These are all things I could have never anticipated. And all of that felt natural and emotionally true the entire time. That's what's so good about this show,' says Baltz. Baltz, like many of his collaborators, did not actually know the show was over when they finished filming – as McBride never explicitly said it was the end. 'On the last day, we kind of had a feeling. No one was addressing it. Then Danny gave a speech, and the emotions started to come out a little bit, because we realised it was probably the end,' says Baltz. And while it's hard to say goodbye, the world of the Gemstones is so vibrant that not everyone involved feels it's really over – particularly Edi Patterson, who not only served as a writer but also plays Judy Gemstone. Patterson says: 'I feel like the Gemstones still exist in a world that's still happening. It just doesn't feel like the end of anything to me. I feel like they're still so alive. That's the fun part of this show – this is a world you can go into, a world so vibrant it's never really gone. 'It's bittersweet, but I'm so proud of what we did. It was a really wild and special thing. Oh man, what a gift. This was the greatest job ever.' The Righteous Gemstones season four releases weekly on OSN+
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Khaleej Times
13 hours ago
- Khaleej Times
Lisa Kudrow may avoid 'The White Lotus' season 4 over dark themes
Lisa Kudrow, known for her iconic role in the popular sitcom 'Friends', has expressed her reservations about joining the cast of HBO's acclaimed satire series 'The White Lotus' for its fourth season. In a conversation with 'White Lotus' star Parker Posey, Kudrow shared her concerns about the show's dark themes. "I do get nervous about inhabiting things that are too dark," Kudrow explained, stating that she tends to avoid such roles, as quoted by E! News. Posey, who played the lorazepam-loving matriarch Victoria Ratliff in season three, encouraged Kudrow to reconsider, joking that a large enough TikTok campaign might persuade her. Despite her hesitation to join 'White Lotus', Kudrow expressed admiration for series creator Mike White's work, particularly his 2017 film 'Brad's Status' starring Ben Stiller. "I emailed him to let him know, because I had to, it was so good, I had to. I don't do that a lot," she said, adding that she would "love" to collaborate with White in the future. White has already hinted at stylistic changes for the upcoming season, including a shift in scene transitions. "For the fourth season, I want to get a little bit out of the 'crashing waves against rocks' vernacular," he revealed in an HBO Max video, as per E! News. The show's sound design may also undergo changes following the departure of composer Cristobal Tapia de Veer due to creative differences.
Al Etihad
18 hours ago
- Al Etihad
Spain gears up for year-long celebration of surrealist Joan Miro
8 June 2025 10:51 BARCELONA (AFP)The torchbearers for one of Spain's most famous artists, Joan Miro, are promising a year-long fiesta of events honouring the surrealist, and the foundation he set up half a century who died in 1983 aged 90, was a giant of the surrealist movement, known for his playful, abstract paintings with bright geometric forms and doodle-like calligraphic Joan Miro Foundation, which he established in a purpose-built modernist structure on top of a hill in Barcelona in 1975, now houses a vast collection of his canvases, sculptures and other institution is planning a year-long series of events to mark the half-century, ranging from exhibitions and concerts to a sunrise visit to its hilltop building."In these 50 years, we've gone from being an artist's dream to becoming a cultural reference point in Barcelona and around the world," said foundation director Marko foundation traces its roots back to the early 1970s, when Miro -- then living in the nearby island of Mallorca -- sought to reconnect with his native city by creating a centre for contemporary art Josep Lluis Sert, a close friend, designed the distinctive white-concrete building on Montjuic hill, overlooking Barcelona. The foundation opened quietly on June 10, 1975 at Miro's request to avoid an official celebrations of Miro kick off on Wednesday with the opening of an exhibition of photos, press clippings, and architectural plans which trace the institution's evolution over the foundation will open its doors on Sunday at sunrise to allow visitors to experience the building bathed in the light of of the highlights of the anniversary will be the opening in October of 'Miro and the United States', an exhibition examining the surrealist artist's connections with America -- a relationship less documented than his ties to visited the US seven times between 1947 and 1968, and the show will feature works by American icons such as Louise Bourgeois, Jackson Pollock, and Mark Rothko alongside the Spanish artist's own pieces. Miro initially drew inspiration from artists such as Vincent van Gogh or Paul Cezanne before developing his own unique style.
Dubai Eye
4 days ago
- Dubai Eye
Alcaraz bludgeons Paul to reach French Open semis
Defending champion Carlos Alcaraz steamrolled past American 12th-seed Tommy Paul 6-0 6-1 6-4 at the French Open on Tuesday with a jaw-dropping display of attacking tennis in one of the most one-sided men's quarter-finals in Paris in recent memory. Four-time champion Iga Swiatek, who is looking to become the first woman in the professional era to win four consecutive titles in Paris, also punched her semi-final ticket with a straight sets win over Elina Svitolina of Ukraine to set up a mouth-watering semi-final with world number one Aryna Sabalenka. But it was four-time Grand Slam champion Alcaraz's merciless dismantling of Paul that grabbed the fans' attention, with the 22-year-old Spaniard terrorising the former French Open junior champion who looked like a fish out of water. Alcaraz charged through the first two sets in just 53 minutes and in near flawless fashion, hitting winners at will and chasing down every ball before the shell-shocked American had any time to react. Paul pulled himself together to hold serve and go 4-3 up in the third but as the sun gradually went down over Paris so did the curtain on his inspired run, with Alcaraz winning three games in a row to put him out of his misery in just 94 minutes. "I could close my eyes and everything went in," Alcaraz said. "My feeling was unbelievable. I tried to hit the shots 100% and not think about it." "Today it was one of those matches where everything went in," he said. He will next take on in-form Italian Lorenzo Musetti who battled past American Frances Tiafoe in four sets after surviving a second-set wobble, to reach the French Open semi-finals for the first time. Musetti Warning Musetti, the world number seven, who escaped with a warning for unsportsmanlike conduct when he kicked a ball at a line judge, eventually overran 15th seed Tiafoe. "Honestly it was really unlucky coincidence," said Musetti of the incident. "I was a little bit scared, because I really didn't want to harm nobody, of course. So I immediately went to the line umpire, and I of course said, 'sorry', I apologise to everyone." "It was right to have a warning, but I think the umpire saw that there was no intention about that and that's why probably just, you know, let me continue my game." That occurred in the second set when Musetti, the only man to reach at least the semi-finals of every main claycourt event this season, was given balls to serve. He kicked one to inadvertently hit the line judge, who barely flinched even though she was hit on her upper body. Grand Slam rules state that players are issued a warning at first instance for any ball abuse. Tiafoe, however, called it 'comical' that there was no serious punishment. "I mean, obviously he did that and nothing happened," said Tiafoe, who had looked surprised and pointed out the incident to the chair umpire. "I think that's comical, but it is what it is. Nothing happened, so there's nothing really to talk about. Obviously it's not consistent, so it is what it is." Earlier, and in front of a sparse crowd around lunchtime, Swiatek braved the windy conditions to beat Svitolina 6-1 7-5. Although Swiatek failed to win a title going into the tournament this season, she looks to have rediscovered her remarkable claycourt form in Paris, stretching her winning run at the French Open to 26 consecutive matches following her title three-peat between 2022-24 to add to her 2020 crown. Three-time Grand Slam champion Sabalenka, hunting her first French Open crown, also needed just two sets to overcome Olympic champion Zheng Qinwen and snap her opponent's 10-match winning streak at Roland Garros with a 7-6(3) 6-3 victory. "I think we're all here for one reason," Sabalenka said. "Everyone wants that beautiful trophy. I'm glad I have another opportunity, another semi-final to do better than last time."
