The Righteous Gemstones began its fourth and final season in 2025, telling the story of a dysfunctional family of televangelists who have risen to the top and now find their grip on their empire falling apart. The HBO comedy series almost feels like a spiritual successor to the raunchy comedy films of the mid-to-late 2000s, but with as much heart as it has cringe-worthy situations. John Goodman is Eli Gemstone, the patriarch and leader of their church, and a widower who finds his kids are not all walking the straight and narrow behind him.

Among several television comedy offerings that now tend to incorporate elements of honest drama within their complex storytelling, The Righteous Gemstones is, at its core, silly and slapstick in its thoughtful approach to the subject matter. However, while it remains highly original in its storytelling and religious satire, there is a similarity between this hit show entering its fourth and final season and other shows that fans can watch with similar themes, comedy, and characterization.

10 Eastbound & Down (2009-2013)

Danny McBride's Previous Hit HBO Series

Perhaps the most obvious choice similar to The Righteous Gemstones is Danny McBride's earlier series, Eastbound & Down. The comedy show debuted on HBO in 2009 and ran for four seasons with 29 episodes. After former Major League Baseball player Kenny Powers (McBride) experiences a career downturn and retires, he returns to his hometown, becoming the substitute P.E. teacher at his old middle school. However, the arrogant and egotistical former ballplayer still wants to make a big comeback.

Many of the show's elements here feel familiar to The Righteous Gemstones fans: jokes infused with vulgarity, a profane anti-hero at the helm of the story, and an overall irreverent tone established by McBride that heightens the comedic effect. The character of Kenny Powers and McBride's character of Jesse on Gemstones are also very similar, as they are both arrogant men who believe the world owes them something, and they want to reach out and grab it, even if they haven't earned it yet.

9 Succession (2018-2023)

A Man Planning Retirement Has To Figure Out Which Child Will Take Over

It's safe to say HBO's critically acclaimed Succession is one of the most talked-about shows in recent memory. Loosely based on the infamous Murdoch family, the Roy family owns the fictional global news and entertainment conglomerate Waystar RoyCo. Longtime family patriarch Logan Roy (Brian Cox) leads the company. However, as he undergoes a notable decline in health, his children attempt to assume control of the company in light of its apparent uncertainty.

Both shows feature a leader who knows his kids are nowhere near ready.

The series is known for its humorous and razor-sharp wit paired with devastatingly raw pathos – rounded out by a perfectly curated cast – and the ongoing struggles and turmoil involving family dynamics are reminiscent of the family conflicts seen in The Righteous Gemstones. Of course, the biggest comparison is the kids lining up to take over the keys to the kingdom from their dad. While there is little in the way of scheming for leadership in Gemstones, both shows feature a leader who knows his kids are nowhere near ready for the job.

8 Barry (2018-2023)

A Hitman Tries To Hide From His Past In Hollywood

Like The Righteous Gemstones, the hit dark comedy crime series Barry follows a narrative built around a seemingly ridiculous and far-fetched premise: a formerly discharged U.S. Marine turned skilled hitman (portrayed by co-creator and SNL alum Bill Hader) follows his next target into an acting class in Los Angeles and ultimately falls in love with the prospects of theater. This leads him to question his direction in life while intensifying existing conflicts between himself and criminal associates tied to his murky past.

Barry has a 98% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

Fans of The Righteous Gemstones will appreciate the show's adept ability to balance truly hilarious moments with a dark and, at times, morbid reality. Both shows also share unexpected moments of violence and criminal wrongdoing, although it is more expected in a series about a former assassin and not so much in a show about a family of religious leaders. However, both shows reveal the underbelly of society in an industry (churches, theater) where it is unexpected.

7 Arrested Development (2003-2019)

A Family Is Totally Unprepared For Adulthood

Arrested Development continues the theme of dysfunctional family dynamics with a much lighter tone. Jason Bateman's portrayal of Michael Bluth serves as the straight man to the other selfish and arrogant of the wealthy Bluth family. After his corrupt father is arrested during the show's opening moments, he feels a responsibility to keep the family together and run the Bluths' real estate company.

The relationships between of the Bluth family are the driving force behind this sitcom – a crucial component of the character interactions in The Righteous Gemstones – supplemented by intelligent writing, self-referential jokes and running gags, and a record-high jokes-per-minute rate. Both shows are about siblings who are nowhere ready to be part of the adult world, even if they feel they are ready to take on great responsibility - causing hilarious mishaps and ridiculous moments.

6 A.P. Bio (2020-2021)

A Disgraced Harvard Professor Returns To Teach High School Biology

The comedic appeal and charm of Peacock's A.P. Bio primarily stems from its central character, Jack's (Glenn Howerton) selfish and often vindictive nature. After losing his dream job to his rival Miles Leonard, former Harvard philosophy professor Jack Griffin must move home to Toledo, Ohio, where he secures a job at a high school teaching advanced placement biology.

Hell-bent on exacting revenge on his rival, Jack finds he can utilize the intellect of his students to his benefit – all while neglecting to teach the class any biology. While this series and The Righteous Gemstones feature abrasive main characters, both still leave room for genuinely heartfelt moments. However, what they really have in common is people expected to be leaders (ministers, teachers) who instead use their positions of power to get what they want, even if it means hurting those they are there to help.

5 BoJack Horseman (2014-2020)

A Former Sitcom Star Wants A Comeback While Dealing With Depression

As another series with an obnoxious yet complicated main character, it's difficult to view BoJack Horseman through the lens of a conventional cartoon series, simply because its impact and depiction of social issues make this show arguably much more than that label. The titular character (Will Arnett) is a washed-up former star (and an anthropomorphic horse) who aims for a resurgence in his celebrity career. However, he struggles with depression and develops self-destructive behaviors.

Aside from The Righteous Gemstones being raucous and silly on the surface, the depiction of its characters' inner demons is analogous to BoJack Horseman. That being said, it is an adult-animated comedy with clever writing, witty wordplay, and references that can possess moments of true realism in how it tackles taboo and sometimes controversial subjects. Both shows deal in satire, but they also have deeper meanings as the characters are nowhere near capable of dealing with their real-world issues.

4 The White Lotus (2021-)

A Vacation Resort Full Of Murder, Cheating, & Intrigue

The comedy-drama anthology series The White Lotus premiered in 2021 as a prime example of effectively balancing humorous satire with dark and slow-boiling tension. The ensemble cast of idiosyncratic characters find themselves vacationing at a tropical resort, where their respective dilemmas unfolding within this supposed paradise accentuate the lead-up to a foreshadowed climax. Originally meant to be a miniseries, it became popular and now has three seasons in an anthology format.

The third season arrived in 2025, and the show has developed a biting satire with memorable characters doing possibly the worst things imaginable in life, all while trying to get ahead themselves. No one is above facing repercussions for their misdeeds, and while some of the characters really want to make the world a better place, most are just in it for their selfish desires. The Righteous Gemstones is more about finding salvation in the end, while White Lotus offers few chances at a happy ending.

3 It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia (2005-)

The Worst Possible People On Television

It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia has been airing consistently since 2005, and the sitcom consistently hits the mark. The central group of characters, often called "The Gang," own and run the fictional Irish Bar, Paddy's Pub, in South Philadelphia. The bar, however, is a largely unsuccessful business, and of "The Gang" frequently spend their time planning ridiculous antics and schemes. While Seinfeld was about bad people doing bad things, this is easily that show's spiritual successor.

The characters' aggressive, rude, and self-serving tone and distasteful actions also resemble The Righteous Gemstones.

The characters' aggressive, rude, and self-serving tone and distasteful actions also resemble The Righteous Gemstones. The sociopathic and co-dependent of "The Gang" frequently toss one another to the curb if the result is personal gain. Both shows have people who are supposed to be friends or family who don't care who they hurt to get what they want, and it is easy to see Jesse and his siblings fitting in well with Charlie and his buddies as some of the worst people possible.

2 Kevin Can F**k Himself (2021-2022)

A Woman Tries To Escape Her Life With An Abusive Husband

Another balancing act of snarky satire and subversive drama in the form of a glaring social statement, AMC's Kevin Can F**k Himself utilizes a strategic blend of television genres and an ironic deployment of familiar tropes. Unhappy in her marriage, Allison McRoberts (Annie Murphy) assumes the role of the stereotypical wife to a boorish yet likable husband, Kevin, à la traditional laugh-track sitcoms such as The King of Queens.

While sequences between the husband and wife are shown in a multi-camera format embellished with canned studio laughter, a contrasting perspective filmed in a single-camera format reminiscent of television dramas shows Allison's drastic attempt to take control of her own life. Despite being more hard-hitting as a drama, the show is as much a satire as The Righteous Gemstones, with its evident influence from famous televangelists like Tammy Faye Bakker.

1 Big Time In Hollywood, FL (2015)

Two Friends Start A Major Scam To Become Filmmakers

Relatively unknown to most audiences and lasting for only a single season on Comedy Central back in 2015, Big Time in Hollywood, FL is a hidden gem that is outrageously funny with the pedal to the floor throughout the entirety of its 10-episode run. Siblings Jack Dolfe (Alex Anfanger) and Ben Dolfe (Lenny Jacobson) are aspiring filmmakers who are told they have two weeks to move out of their parents' home and find "real" jobs.

In an effort to scam their parents out of $20,000 to their ambitions, including a plan involving a dangerous "drug dealer," a sequence of events is ignited that results in a wildly entertaining snowball effect. The action sequences, like The Righteous Gemstones, pack quite a punch in this fast-paced narrative while remaining grounded in the comedy of the unfortunate situation the characters find themselves in.