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The Righteous Gemstones: How Star Wars inspired the final season of HBO's blessedly raunchy comedy

With The Righteous Gemstones' finale now streaming, co-creator Danny McBride dishes on the influence the early Star Wars films had on his irreverent, religious comedy saga

If you’re a regular visitor to Popverse, there’s a good chance you were spending May 4, 2025 doing something somehow Star Wars-y. But fans of HBO’s The Righteous Gemstones had something else on their minds, as that was the date the series finale aired, ending a four-season run that became a staple of modern TV comedy. But here’s the thing - watching The Righteous Gemstomes come to a close does count as celebrating Star Wars.

According to Danny McBride, who co-created the raunchy comedy, The Righteous Gemstones season 4 owes a lot to the Galaxy Far, Far Away.

The news comes from an interview McBride did with Variety, published May 4. McBride - who writes, directs, and stars in the series focused on megachurch-owning family the Gemstones - got teary-eyed about the idea of the show's final season and, much to the delight of fans, gave some insight into what inspired it. And that just happened to be the original Star Wars trilogy.

"One thing I always thought was cool about the first three Star Wars movies," says McBride, whose sci-fi (and, we suppose, biblical?) franchise chops include a starring role in Alien: Covenant, "Was, they would take those characters [and put them in new locations] 'These are those characters in the snow. These are those characters in the jungle.’ I was always looking for, ‘Where have we not seen the Gemstones before?'"

Those readers who've already seen The Righteous Gemstones season 4 know that the new location this season puts them in is Galilee Gulch, the family lakehouse where key, as-of-yet-unexplored events of the Gemstones' history took place. It's also the site of the dramatic showdown in season 4, episode 9, where Gemstone siblings Jesse, Judy, and Kelvin must survive...

Actually, we won't spoil that here - go ahead and watch The Righteous Gemstones season 4 to learn for yourself. We will clarify, though, that despite the off-the-wall antics the show is accustomed to portraying, the three don't find themselves up against the likes of a Rancor.

And seeing as how the show is officially over, we doubt they ever will.

The Righteous Gemstones is streaming now (in its entirety) on Max.


Get to know, understand, and love the Star Wars franchise more with our Star Wars watch order, guide to all the upcoming Star Wars movies & TV shows, and all the Star Wars movies and Star Wars TV shows ranked.

 

Grant DeArmitt

Grant DeArmitt: Grant DeArmitt (he/him) likes horror, comics, and the unholy union of the two. As Popverse's Staff Writer, he criss-crosses the pop culture landscape bringing you the news and opinions about the big things (and the next big things). In the past, and despite their better judgment, he has written for Nightmare on Film Street and Newsarama. He lives in Brooklyn with his partner, Kingsley, and corgi, Legs.

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