Is the Family on 'The Righteous Gemstones' Based on a Real Family?
'The Righteous Gemstones' is an irreverent comedy about the scandalous life of a family of megachurch pastors. Is the family based on real lifestyles?
As a family of super-rich megachurch pastors, the Gemstones on HBO's The Righteous Gemstones use their influence and expertise to navigate thru all types of crazy antics. But the nature of megachurches isn't purely fiction. They're precise amenities where thousands of folks accumulate to wait mass that is extra spectacle than spiritual. But does that mean that the Gemstones also are based in truth?
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The Righteous Gemstones follows the titular Gemstone family as they proceed development their megachurch empire. Along the way, the family must trudge via scandal and contention while paradoxically preaching the phrase of God in impressive type. There's no end to the Gemstones' escapades as they try to increase their televangelist empire whatsoever vital.
While the sequence has some basis in real-life megachurch business, are the Gemstones a real family in that respect?
Is 'The Righteous Gemstones' based on a real family?
The present Gemstone family is composed of father Eli (John Goodman) and his adult youngsters Jesse (Danny McBride), Judy (Edi Patterson), and Kelvin (Adam DeVine). The family industry is marked through ongoing controversy, blackmail, and even cases of homicide. All of that without delay sounds too ridiculous to be true, even for megachurches which can be supposedly exempt from paying taxes.
While the questionable nature and controversy behind megachurches do exist, does that mean the Gemstones are based on truth?
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Not exactly. The Gemstones themselves don't seem to be based on fact and are purely creations of the show. For all intents and purposes, the fictional dysfunctional family serves as satirical caricatures of the televangelist industry.
But the tradition at the back of megachurch pastors undoubtedly exists. The occupation faces controversy for its pastors development their wealth on church donations. Megachurches had been criticized for appearing extra corporate and outlandish than conventional Catholic products and services.
The Gemstones in the show are simply another automobile that drives the satirical view of megachurches. But that does not imply that there is not a trace of truth in the show.
In a 2019 interview with GQ, creator and celebrity Danny McBride said he drew each from his religious upbringing and attending exact megachurch services to fortify the appear and feel of The Righteous Gemstones. According to Danny, he and his family had an awful enjoy with attending church when he used to be younger.
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After his oldsters divorced and his father left the family, his mom was once reportedly refrained from via their native churchgoers in spite of her years of devoted service.
"You'd think it'd be a time where the church would try to help her out," Danny informed GQ. "Instead we found the exact opposite thing. It was people whispering behind our family's back and just being judgmental on my mom for getting a divorce."
He and his sister in the end stopped going to church in unity with their mom.
He would move on to revisit church in his adult years, and his research into megachurches inspired The Righteous Gemstones.
"I started reading about these megachurches and seeing how totally different church is now. And then the more I read about these different pastors, it just felt like it was a world that sort of would be an interesting place to set a story like this."
New episodes of The Righteous Gemstones premiere Sundays at 10 p.m. ET on HBO.
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