- Network: HBO
- Series Premiere Date: Aug 18, 2019
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Critic Reviews
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The beauty of McBride, Green and Hill’s small-screen triumph is the way in which it couches its over-the-top exclamations in fittingly lewd and preposterous scenarios. McBride’s Jesse is the corrupt soul of these proceedings, his arrogant greed and ambition almost as great as his pathetic longing for validation from both his father and his peers (at whom he sneers). He’s complemented by one of the best casts in television.
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This new season of The Righteous Gemstones is the first great comedy show of 2022, a brilliant combination of insanity and surprising heart. Even though McBride has proven his excellence in television before, Season 2 of The Righteous Gemstones feels like a step above what he’s already done.
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It is a comedy with every fiber of its being, and the funniest one currently on air. ... Gemstones’ extraordinary collection of comedic talent makes it a joy to watch even when its narrative flow occasionally lurches.
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It’s certainly not for everyone, but if it is up your alley, it elicits tears-streaming-down-your-face laughter, the kind of horrified guffaws only McBride and his team can deliver. ... All the hi-jinx and hysteria and humor are what make The Righteous Gemstones a thorough joy, but the deeper questions are what make it memorable, a true gem in a sea of shallow content.
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Goodman is more than up for the task, but he’s also just an incredibly sharp comedic performer. Seeing him get a little silly, in moments broad and specific, make for some of the season’s greatest joys. And that’s what “The Righteous Gemstones” boils down to: joy, joy, joy, joy down… somewhere below their hearts. Don’t worry about the power plays, just enjoy the bigness.
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Luckily, the writing on “The Righteous Gemstones” is so densely packed that every subplot that sags is balanced by one that works. The season even gets surprisingly action-packed with a number of scenes in the back half that are like an ‘80s Cannon movie (that's a good thing).
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In its totality, what makes this second season of The Righteous Gemstones succeed despite how off-balance its early episodes feel is the sense that, rather than taking only easy shots at people who use Christianity as a shield against rightful accusations of them, McBride and his collaborators have probed deeper into the transformative nature of belief and why it makes such people act that way at all.
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Plot’s never really been what I look for in a McBride show, though. No matter how ridiculous they get, they’re still rooted in a recognizable reality and a detailed eye for how people live and talk in the modern South. That attention to detail is readily apparent in this season’s flashbacks.
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Pompous, self-serving behavior is a common trope in McBride’s acidic brand of comedy, but The Righteous Gemstones showcases a depth and maturity by spending more time excavating the foundation of this ever-expanding evangelical empire.
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“Gemstones” is brave, and I want it to explore rather than shy away from all that subtext—which is that straight white men are straight white men because the rest of us are not.
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Season two of “The Righteous Gemstones” is an ambitious, intermittently hysterical mess. McBride and Hill attempt to expand the show outward, often into full-on action set pieces that, while impressive, fail to find cohesion with the rest of the series. Coupled with forgotten plot lines and lost characters, it’s a disappointing step-down.
Awards & Rankings
User score distribution:
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Positive: 17 out of 20
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Mixed: 1 out of 20
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Negative: 2 out of 20
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May 27, 2022
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Mar 10, 2022This season starts with so much promise, but fades rather quickly in it's final few episodes and leaves you with a sense of what could of been.
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Jun 28, 2023This is what the first season should've been. HILARIOUS. Uncle Baby Billy (Walton Goggins) steals the show.