Now that both Succession and Barry have aired their series finales, television fans may be in search of the next show that lives up to HBO’s standard of excellence. While upcoming projects like The Sympathizer and The Regime sound exciting, HBO has already been airing one of its best projects ever with The Righteous Gemstones. Ironically, Danny McBride’s spiritual sequel to Eastbound and Down and Vice Principals has a lot in common with Succession; the notion of three bickering siblings all vying for their father’s attention and love as they control an influential media empire all feels a little familiar. While The Righteous Gemstones has a ton of great supporting characters and guest stars, Walton Goggins’ incredible performance as “Baby Billy” is easily the scene-stealer of the series. The sheer commitment that Goggins has to such absurd material perfectly represents the unique tone that distinguishes The Righteous Gemstones from its competitors in the comedy field.
Television fans that are familiar with Goggins’ work already know that he has the ability to turn a good show into a great one. Goggins gave one of the early breakout performances on The Shield, and at times, it seemed like he was the only one who could hold a candle to Michael Chicklis’ incredible dramatic weight; the same could be said of his awards-nominated role opposite Timothy Olyphant on Justified. However, the character of “Baby Billy” forced Goggins to wear so much makeup and prosthetics that it could have easily become a complete caricature; it’s to his credit that despite his eccentricities, Baby Billy still feels like a real person. Acting with excessive makeup work makes it easy for actors to use their physical transformation as a crutch, but Goggins has been able to make Baby Billy feel just as absurd as the rest of his bizarre family.
The Righteous Gemstones focuses on the internal family drama of the Gemstones clan, a family that controls an incredibly popular and modernized megachurch, streaming service, and broadcast program. The family’s leader Eli (John Goodman) attempts to keep the church afloat as he brings in his children Jesse (McBride), Judy (Edi Patterson), and Kelvin (Adam DeVine) to assist him. However, Eli is also still grieving the loss of his wife, Aimee-Leigh (Jennifer Nettles), and feels an obligation to support her brother Billy. This element of legitimate drama and complexity gives Baby Billy a greater importance in the story beyond simply being there for additional comedic relief. There’s a level of tension between Eli and Baby Billy that is based on mutual grief; both men think they are honoring Aimee-Leigh in their respective ways, even if her real legacy rested with her desire to see family at peace with one another.
That peace is something Baby Billy is all too keen to disrupt. While he once grew up in the spotlight as a child star alongside his sister, Baby Billy has never matured past the precocious nature of a young boy being discovered for the first time. The idea that an older man is so desperately clinging on to a version of himself from the past is funny and tragic in a way that makes The Righteous Gemstones even more interesting; none of the series’ characters are that likable, but their flaws do imbed them with intriguing personality quirks that make it hard to dismiss their issues entirely. As a result of his childhood stardom, his strict religious upbringing, his childhood grief, and his isolation, Baby Billy has significant mental health issues that are in need of addressing; Goggins is so brilliant that he shows that all of the deceptive character’s cons are a result of his perceived lack of self-worth.
The Righteous Gemstones distinguishes itself from other mainstream comedies because of its sincerity; although it mocks elements of televangelism and modern worship, the show takes the stories involving faith and family very seriously. This became apparent in Season 2 through the relationship between Baby Billy and his much younger wife, Tiffany (Valyn Hall). On paper, Tiffany’s relationship with Billy would be nothing more than a gag; she’s devoid of manners, knows nothing about the complexities of running a church or business, and is just as awkward and invasive as Baby Billy is during her public appearances. However, it’s the great chemistry between Hall and Goggins that makes this wacky duo worth rooting for, even when they do their best to undermine Jesse, Judy, and Kelvin.
After Baby Billy is forced to seriously commit himself to Tiffany at the end of Season 2, the beginning of Season 3 sees them once again aiming for the coveted spot on television that Billy believes has been “denied” to him since his birth. This leads to a series of hilarious moments in which Baby Billy tries to test out his supposedly “new” game show (which is really just Family Feud) on his extended family during a gathering of the cousins. Any competitive game is bound to start up a riot, and Baby Billy heads into the gathering with full knowledge that tempers will be lost and chaos will begin. Surprisingly, the evening goes so disastrously that it ends up bonding Jesse, Judy, and Kelvin with their cousins Chuck (Lukas Haas) and Karl Montgomery (Robert Oberst). It’s unclear if this was all part of Baby Billy’s master plan, or if his unintended chaotic spirit is exactly what the family needed to come closer together.
It’s easy to condense any comedy show down into a series of viral clips, and Goggins certainly has more than a few; his self-written ballad “There Will Come A Pay Day” from the Season 3 episode “For Their Nakedness Is Your Own Nakedness” serves as a great Emmy reel in its own right. Nonetheless, there’s no other character on television (comedy or otherwise) quite like Baby Billy, and no actor as dedicated as Goggins that could bring him to life. The Righteous Gemstones’ biggest wildcard is a reason to keep watching.
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