Parents' Guide to

The Righteous Gemstones

TV HBO Comedy 2019
The Righteous Gemstones Poster Image

Common Sense Media Review

Joyce Slaton By Joyce Slaton , based on child development research. How do we rate?

age 15+

Violence, language, nudity in fun Southern-fried satire.

Parents Need to Know

Why Age 15+?

Any Positive Content?

  • The Righteous Gemstones Television: Scene 1 Kelvin, Jesse, and Eli Gemstone line up in suits in a bar with beer signs on the wall.
  • The Righteous Gemstones Television: Scene 2 Judi stands in front of two church members, crossing her arms and looking disgusted.
  • The Righteous Gemstones Television: Scene 3 Jesse lifts a fist in victory while addressing a crowd onstage.

Parent and Kid Reviews

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age 18+

Based on 6 parent reviews

mjm87
mjm87 Parent of 3, 4 and 6-year-old
April 25, 2022
age 18+

"Common Sense" dropped the ball.

After reading the "Common Sense" review, I gotta wonder did your reviewer just watch the 1st episode and call it a day? The show gets far more graphic, and explicit as it goes. Also 15+? I don't know anyone with common sense who would recommend this show to anyone who isn't an adult?
monofrio79
monofrio79 Parent of 13 and 15-year-old
August 29, 2022
age 18+

Spiritually bad for anyone of any age.

I’m not sure what this reviewer is talking about. This show is pretty disgusting and if you are a Christian it should down right offend you and bring you do fiction when watching it. I could not even get past the first episode becuase I already new what direction this was heading. Just like west world this show is not for Christians with values. Some people have a very low bar of what entertainment is. Please don’t listen to these raring and certainly do not let any kids of any age watch this garbage show.
See all 6 parent reviews

What's the Story?

Created and written by star Danny McBride, THE RIGHTEOUS GEMSTONES introduces us to the television-ministry masters the Gemstones at a pivotal moment. The ministry's founding matriarch Aimee Leigh has passed on, leaving the church in the hands of husband Eli (John Goodman) and the couple's three squabbling children: Jesse (McBride), Kelvin (Adam Devine), and Judy (Edi Patterson). On the surface, the Gemstones' empire appears to be healthy and growing -- they just baptized 5,000 people in China, and have closed on a new church in a small town despite local preacher Johnny Seasons' (Dermot Mulroney) determination to keep them out. But when a new threat surfaces and Jesse tries to handle it in his own bullheaded way, things quickly go from bad to worse, and even faith and followers might not be enough to bail the Gemstones out this time.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (6 ):
Kids say (3 ):

Southern-fried and stupid fun, this raucous drama scores by fooling us into believing it's a mild satire of televangelists before taking a crazy leap off a cliff. No spoilers here, but viewers who think they're watching a gently ironic comedy that just intends to poke holes in the pray-for-pay industry will soon learn that what we have here is mayhem with a veneer of humor. Those who find Danny McBride's overly self-confident moron schtick tiresome will be relieved to find that this is truly an ensemble cast: the Gemstones hang out a lot together, preaching to their flock in front of the cameras before repairing for elaborate "church lunch" and the like, but the camera also follows each of the Gemstones home to find just what's lurking under the family's happy shiny surface.

McBride, as you may have guessed, is the architect of the family's current strife, as a past misdeed turns out to haunt him, putting his status as the ministry's heir apparent in jeopardy. He's got trouble at home too: one son has already disowned the whole family, while another (Kelton DuMont) is promising to bolt the second he turns 18. Meanwhile Kelvin lives in his brother's shadow (and has secrets of his own), while Judy stews jealously, infuriated that she often gets passed over in favor of her brothers. Not to worry, Judy: you're firmly in the thick of the family's new drama; good thing, too, since Patterson's muttered asides are one of the show's surest laugh-getters. But The Righteous Gemstones' real MVP is Goodman, who anchors the goofiness in gravitas and more than a hint of menace. This show is a real hoot, can we get an amen?

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about role models. What makes someone a good role model? If someone is a famous minister, should he or she be a positive influence in other arenas? Are any of the Gemstones role models?

  • The Righteous Gemstones asks the audience to laugh at situations that in real life would be awful: predatory religious figures, murder, blackmail. How does this show present these situations in order to find humor? Do they succeed? How do TV shows and movies make it possible to laugh at terrible happenings?

  • Families can also discuss what it means to be famous and powerful. Do these things grant authority? Just because someone is in a position of authority, does that mean they deserve that authority or will exercise it wisely? Can you think of examples of good and bad authorities in movies? Are the Gemstones good, bad, or both?

TV Details

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