HBO’s The Righteous Gemstones Broke The Rule Other Shows Refuse To

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Comedies featuring flawed, often unpleasant characters – like those in Arrested Development, The Office, Schitt’s Creek, and It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia – have become incredibly popular, essentially forming their own distinct style of humor. While each show boasts a fresh and original comedic approach, they all share a common challenge: convincing audiences to root for people who aren’t always likable.

While humor can make a show enjoyable, it’s well-developed characters that really make a series stand out and stay with viewers. This type of comedy often requires time for audiences to connect with the characters, and shows have tried different ways to achieve this with mixed results.

I have to say, watching The Righteous Gemstones was a wild ride! Considering how ridiculously wealthy and focused on possessions this family was, I didn’t expect to care about what happened to them at all. But the show hooked me almost immediately, and I found myself genuinely worried about the Gemstones. It’s funny because usually comedies take a while to build that kind of connection, but this show skipped right over that and just threw us into the drama!

You wouldn’t expect a show about a family of televangelists to be full of action, but The Righteous Gemstones surprisingly delivered both hilarious moments and thrilling sequences. By putting the Gemstone family in real danger, the show took risks that most comedies avoid, and in doing so, overcame a common weakness of the genre.

The Righteous Gemstones’ Action Sequences Hold The Entire Show Together

The creators of The Righteous Gemstones realized the show’s appeal wasn’t based on whether people liked the characters, but how strongly they disliked them. While Jesse, Kelvin, Judy, and Baby Billy were often annoying and difficult, viewers didn’t necessarily want to see them fail completely.

Instead of downplaying the Gemstone family’s flaws, the show The Righteous Gemstones highlighted them by constantly placing the characters in extreme danger. By threatening them with consequences far beyond their misdeeds—like sending hitmen after Eli or kidnapping Jesse, Judy, and Kelvin—the show kept viewers engaged without requiring the characters to genuinely grow or change.

The show The Righteous Gemstones didn’t shy away from the dangers its characters faced. Action-packed scenes, including fights, car chases, and shootouts – often thanks to the work of stuntman Gideon Gemstone – were a constant throughout the series, making the threats feel genuinely high-stakes and believable.

What really set The Righteous Gemstones apart from other comedies was its boldness. It became a truly captivating show by blending surprising styles and delivering scenes you couldn’t look away from.

While the show looked great, the exciting villains – like the “motorcycle ninjas” – were more than just an added bonus. They were the main reason people tuned in, wanting to both enjoy the Gemstone family’s mishaps and root for their success.

The Righteous Gemstones Creatively Solved TV’s Biggest Problem

Many popular TV comedies got off to a rocky start. The first season of Schitt’s Creek was famously slow, and while The Office gained a loyal following, many viewers found it too awkward to enjoy. Arrested Development, despite its brilliant humor, didn’t always make audiences root for its characters. Even with hugely successful shows, creating characters people actually want to see succeed has been a consistent challenge for comedies.

Most TV comedies are designed to be funny and avoid serious danger. We usually assume the characters are safe, and truly suspenseful or life-threatening situations are reserved for dramatic shows. Without a sense of stakes or urgency, characters who aren’t immediately likable either take a while to win the audience over, or they fail to connect with viewers at all, becoming simply sources of humor.

The Righteous Gemstones boldly explored dark and dramatic themes, even going so far as to depict a shocking event like Eli being thrown through his car’s windshield, leaving audiences wondering about his survival for several episodes. This willingness to take risks resulted in incredibly engaging characters; viewers became invested in what happened to them almost immediately, before they even had time to form an opinion about whether they liked them.

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2026-04-12 22:18