Living With B

This is your warning that spoilers are ahead! If you have not watched the entire The Righteous Gemstones series and are wishing to not be spoiled, please keep it moving!

The Righteous Gemstones is a dark comedy about a wealthy, dysfunctional family of televangelists who preach virtue while living wildly immoral lives behind the scenes. Led by patriarch Eli and his power-hungry children—Jesse, Judy, and Kelvin—the Gemstones navigate blackmail, scandal, and internal chaos as they fight to protect their empire and public image. The show satirizes mega-church culture with sharp humor and over-the-top family drama.

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The Righteous Gemstones is not a perfect show, it is far from it, but I adored this show so much! Denver was seeing clips of Walton Goggins as Baby Billy and was desperate to watch it.

It felt like a social commentary on mega-churches, the wealth many pastors of these churches fantasize about, all while showing the negatives that come with it. People trying to tear down your empire, the spoilt children that come out of it, and the blind following of those attending the church.

Created by Danny McBride, we follow the Gemstone family — a wealthy, dysfunctional televangelist dynasty that manages to be both morally bankrupt and endearing. At every turn, I thought to myself “How did we get here?” Even when we got flashbacks I would turn to Denver and say “How did they become like that?”

I am a lover of drama and this show delivers every single time! Judy’s breakup and infidelity, fellow pastors trying to kill Eli Gemstone and the drama that comes with being a gay pastor. Drama! Drama! Drama!

Let’s talk cast: John Goodman as Eli Gemstone is perfection! He is the patriarch with thunder … I don’t think I’ve ever seen Edi Patterson (Judy) in something before, but she portrays Judy so well! She’s loud, messy, tragic, and impossible to look away from even when you want to!

The writing is sharp and weirdly emotional. Blackmail and murder run rampant in their story, but there are moments of tenderness, and dare I say, character growth. In one moment, we’re watching a group of fellas worshipping and the next, I’m crying at the humility of the siblings being saved.

Visually, the show leans into the over-the-top Southern megachurch aesthetic that many Southerners have become accustomed to. It’s so excessive that it becomes its kind of satire! But The Righteous Gemstones doesn’t preach. It holds up a mirror to the current culture within religion.

Final Verdict on Born Again

I keep recommending this to anyone who will listen! As mentioned before, is it the best show out there? No. But it’s so funny and absurd that you can’t help but watch it! It’s messy. It’s camp. But it’s somehow wholesome at the same time.

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