‘The Righteous Gemstones’ Ending After Next Season Is A Blessing in Disguise

One day, we all must leave this world to meet our maker, and some shows are called upon by Danny McBride sooner than others.

This week, fans of the hit HBO comedy-drama The Righteous Gemstones learned that the show’s upcoming fourth season will be its last. In his infinite wisdom, series creator and star McBride decided to go out on a high note and deliver his latest cult-beloved series about cocky lunatics living in the South its last rites before the show could possibly suffer the late-series corruption that claimed the souls of so many quality comedies before it. But, as the Righteous Gemstones’ flock struggles with this somber news, they should take comfort in the fact that McBride now has the opportunity to deliver his magnum opus to HBO heaven.

“The Lord spoke to me and said it’s time to wrap this sucker up,” McBride explained in a statement to Variety, apparently quoting Chad from that blackmail video in Season One. 

“The story this season made the themes, ideas and characters in The Righteous Gemstones feel whole and complete," said McBride of Season Four, which is scheduled to premiere on HBO this March. "I have loved every second of working with this team for the past eight years, and there are some incredible payoffs, twists and turns in store over the course of this wild final season.”

Despite how The Righteous Gemstones has only continued to improve with each successive season, McBride's instincts for when to say goodbye have never failed him before, and fans should have faith in his ability to leave them wanting more without leaving them in the lurch. After all, this isn’t the first time when McBride has decided to end a beloved HBO comedy on a high note. McBride’s first hit with the premium network, the charmingly crass sports comedy Eastbound & Down about a hot-headed, down-on-his-luck relief pitcher, also only ran for four seasons. But, as the enduring cult following behind Eastbound & Down continues to prove since the show’s finale in 2013, the series has lasted much longer in the fans’ hearts.

Then, there was Vice Principals, McBride’s two-season masterpiece that he made with fellow Righteous Gemstones star and fan-favorite uncle Walton Goggins. Again, even though McBride and his long-time creative partner Jody Hill only squeezed 18 total episodes out of their idea for a show about dueling public school administrators vying for the same job between 2016 and 2017, you’ll still see swaths of true believers preaching the glory of Vice Principals every time a Twitter thread pops up that discusses the most underrated comedies of all time.

McBride clearly knows when to call it quits and maintain a series’ immortal legacy, which is an incredibly valuable skill for someone who makes his kind of show. Despite the fact that Eastbound & Down is a top-three funniest shows on TV, critically, it isn’t a sitcom. The Gemstones change and grow like real human beings, they’re not just quip factories that can be queued up in endless but diminishing iterations of the same few circumstances — it’s not like Kelvin can kiss Keefe for the first time every few seasons. In McBride’s world, character development is permanent, and stories need to have endings.

But unlike so many other comedies that ended in the middle of their heyday, at least The Righteous Gemstones will give us fans the chance to say goodbye. And, who knows, maybe McBride will leave the door open for a spinoff series — it’s always time to get Baby Billy back on TV.