HBO’s irreverent The Righteous Gemstones is off to a promising start, though creators Danny McBride and Jody Hill are clearly still trying to get a handle on how best to highlight their huge ensemble. As we noted in our pre-air review, it’s tough to balance powerhouses like McBride, Edi Patterson, John Goodman, and Walton Goggins with fresh faces like Skyler Gisondo, Tim Baltz, and Tony Cavalero, especially in such tight 30-minute episodes. It’s good news, then, that the show will have the chance to stretch its legs with a second season, the likes of which HBO announced today.
“Danny, Jody and David [Gordon Green] are among our favorite collaborators and we’re thrilled that their take on a family comedy has been met with such enthusiasm,” says HBO’s Amy Gravitt in a statement. “We cannot wait to share the next steps in the Gemstone family’s epic journey. Hallelujah!”
McBride and Hill’s follow-up to Eastbound & Down and Vice Principals, The Righteous Gemstones is as much centered on a broken family as its predecessors were on toxic individuals. The story of a corrupt clan of prosperity preachers, the series leavens McBride’s bull-in-a-china-shop comedy with characters who are clearly still mourning their late mother, the unifying force of their troubled unit.