The Righteous Gemstones Season 4 has been given the green light at HBO, with fans wondering what to expect from the black comedy's return.
Created by (and starring) renowned comedian Danny McBride, Gemstones has been making waves on HBO and its streaming home, Max (formerly HBO Max), since its debut in 2019.
The series follows the Gemstones, a family of televangelists who put the 'fun' in dysfunctional as they rule over an empire of corpulently funded megachurches.
When Is The Righteous Gemstones Season 4 Releasing?
Heading into The Righteous Gemstones Season 3 in June 2023, there was a question of if the HBO series would get another go on the network.
However, the series did not even finish its third season run before it was officially greenlit for Season 4.
As reported by Variety, the renewal came days before the Season 3 finale.
At the time, Executive Vice President of HBO Programming and Head of HBO & Max comedy series Amy Gravitt teased that audiences should "Get ready for more of the hilarious adrenaline ride that is The Righteous Gemstones" but offered little in terms of actual information about the upcoming fourth season.
Of course, this renewal came in the middle of the actors' and writers' strikes that dominated Hollywood for much of 2023. It was unclear when the show would return to production (and eventually gear up for release).
However, upon the resolution to both job actions - with the actors' strikes coming to an end in November 2023 - star Adam Devine teased in a Facebook post that he was "gearing up to shoot Season 4," meaning cameras could roll imminently:
“Strike is OVER! Gearing up to shoot Season 4!”
Season 3 was shot over six months between June and December 2022 before premiering another six months later on June 18, 2023.
Assuming Season 4 follows a similar production cycle, that would put the end of filming sometime around June or July 2024 with either a late 2024 or early 2025 release window.
Who’s Cast In The Righteous Gemstones Season 4?
The Righteous Gemstones is a star-studded affair and will likely continue to be.
As it stands, Adam Devine is the only Gemstones star to confirm he is returning for Season 4, but one can assume much of the cast that has gotten the series to this point will be back for these new episodes.
Characters like Dr. Elijah "Eli" Gemstone (played by John Goodman), Jesse Gemstone (Danny McBride), and Judy Gemstone (Edi Patterson) among others will almost certainly return as the series continues to follow the exploits of this incredibly flawed familial unit.
Here is a list of every The Righteous Gemstones character expected to appear in Season 4:
- Danny McBride - Jesse Gemstone
- Adam Devine - Kelvin Gemstone
- John Goodman - Eli Gemstone
- Edi Patterson - Judy Gemstone
- Cassidy Freeman - Amber Gemstone
- Tim Baltz - BJ Barnes
- Tony Cavalero - Keefe Chambers
- Gregalan Williams - Martin Imari
- Skyler Gisondo - Gideon Gemstone
- Walton Goggins - Baby Billy Freeman
- Jennifer Nettles - Aimee-Leigh Gemstone
What Will Happen in The Righteous Gemstones Season 4?
No exact plot specifics for The Righteous Gemstones Season 4 have been released yet, but thankfully, seeds have been planted for where the series could go next.
The ending of Season 3 saw the Gemstones getting along to a shocking level (something unusual for the series).
The Gemstone kids are buddy-buddy, and they seem willing and ready to speak with their father, Eli, a feeling that he looks to reciprocate.
If the series had ended here, it would have made sense. But alas, conflict is brewing on the horizon.
One of the biggest narrative threads woven through Season 3 centered on Eli's estranged brother-in-law, Peter Montgomery (played by Steve Zahn). Peter had been living with a violent extremist cult that led to his eventual kidnapping of the Gemstone kids.
While Peter's story turned toward redemption to end Season 3, and he seemingly left his terrorist ways in the past, there is always the chance this clandestine group comes back into play in Season 4.
With Peter leaving that life behind, perhaps the Gemstones will come face-to-face with the radical group on a more macro scale, as they may try to take down the family's church empire.
Another direction the series could go centers on Adam Devine's Kelvin. Each season thus far has featured at least one scandal related to a Gemstone family member that threatens the brand and reputation of the family.
So, with Devine's Kelvin secretly romancing Tony Cavalero's satanist-turned-church-employee Keefe in Season 3, perhaps Season 4 could see Kelvin being outed and his typically closed-minded family (and the members of its congregation) having to grapple with that.
The Righteous Gemstones is streaming now on Max.
