Bawdy The Righteous Gemstones lacks real bite

The greed and opulence of megachurches are ripe for satire but this new HBO comedy isn’t going to be the one to take it all the way.

By now, you probably know if you’re a fan of Danny McBride’s sense of humour or not.

The bawdy star and creator of comedies including Eastbound and Down and Vice Principals has a vibe that’s loud, unfiltered and bordering on crass. The onscreen personalities he crafts are big — not one for subtlety.

So if that sounds like your thing, you’ll find enough to like in The Righteous Gemstones.

The new HBO comedy has a really promising premise, set in the world of megachurches and prosperity preachers, an industry ripe for parody.

There is so much satirical gold to mine in the excess and greed of the bright lights and million-dollar Sunday collections, and while The Righteous Gemstones is occasionally funny, it lacks proper bite.

Praise be!

The Gemstones are a family of televangelists famed for their TV show and a string of megachurches where every Sunday, worshippers pack out their stadium-like centre, hands in the air ready to receive the Holy Spirit from god, while also simultaneously emptying their pockets out.

Backstage, the donations are tallied in a room that looks like the counting floor of a casino before being locked up in a safe that Danny Ocean would find tempting.

The money is definitely flowing, from the parishioners’ bank accounts to the church in the form of private jets, an expansive compound with its own shooting range, and so many crystal chandeliers. It’s as gauche as you’d expect.

Patriarch Eli (John Goodman) holds court onstage with his platitudes about god’s grace while sons Jesse (McBride) and Kelvin (Adam DeVine) rock out next to him. Daughter Judy (Edi Patterson) is relegated to audience-only status, because, well, she’s a chick.

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Danny McBride created, wrote and starred in The Righteous Gemstones

The Gemstones all live in palatial digs decked out with every extravagance and drive Range Rovers and Mercedes 4WDs — it’s undeniably a lap of luxury. Praise be!

Eli hasn’t been the same since his wife died and he’s in a perpetual state of grumps in addition to a serious mean streak. His three kids — much like HBO’s other current series involving a gazillionaire family with a cold father, Succession — are all vying for his attention and approval.

Meanwhile, Jesse is being blackmailed with a video that threatens to expose him (and the Gemstones by extension) for the lascivious sinners they are.

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May the lord open

The Righteous Gemstones feels like untapped potential. The industry that is evangelical megachurches has millions of people under their thrall, seducing them with a glitzy version of faith that’s predicated on material success while still devoted to unbendable scriptures.

The show could’ve been much sharper in its dissection of this industry, but as it is, at least in the first four episodes, it’s middling and blunted.

I mentioned Succession before, which The Righteous Gemstones shares some DNA with, because Succession is so unflinching in its take-down of this toxic family exploiting others in their merciless pursuit of power and money. The Righteous Gemstones should’ve been much bolder, and not kind of boring.

What it is though is a rascally comedy with pacing issues and an occasional zinger — and lots of peen, which pops up (or not, as it were) at least once every episode.

It’s a very Danny McBride kind of show.

The Righteous Gemstones premieres on Fox Showcase/Foxtel Now on Tuesday, August 20 at 8.30pm

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