Fresh off Vice Principals, Danny McBride is lining up his next act at HBO.
The premium cable network has handed out a pilot order to the comedy The Righteous Gemstones.
McBride created the project and will pen the script, executive produce, direct and star in the story of a world-famous televangelist family with a long tradition of deviance, greed and charitable work, all in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.
John Goodman (Roseanne) will star as Eli Gemstone, the patriarch of the Gemstone family. The character is described as unbending and a force in the ministry game. He is known the world over for his aggressive salvation techniques, his global ministries and his award-winning weekly television program. His light is fading, but he takes no guff. He is obeyed, unquestioned.
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McBride will portray Jesse Gemstone, the eldest son and heir to the throne. He walks in his father’s shadow while simultaneously blazing his own path. Like Eli, Jesse takes no shit and demands loyalty from those in his circle and surrounds himself by those that will follow him. Jesse fancies himself a maverick in the ministry game, taking what Eli has built and expanding it for a more modern audience.
McBride will exec produce alongside his Rough House Pictures partner Jody Hill. The company’s David Gordon Green will also exec produce the potential series.
The Righteous Gemstones serves as the latest project for McBride and his longtime friends Hill and Green and follows Vice Principals and Eastbound and Down.
For Goodman, meanwhile, the pilot comes in addition to the Roseanne grad’s role in ABC’s upcoming spinoff The Conners, which is set to premiere in the fall without his longtime co-star Roseanne Barr.
The Righteous Gemstones joins an HBO pilot roster that also includes the comedies Mrs. Fletcher and Run plus the dramas Watchmen and Euphoria. HBO’s comedy lineup includes the final season of Veep, Animals, Ballers, Barry, Crashing, Divorce, High Maintenance, Insecure, Room 104 and Camping.
McBride, Green and Hill are repped by CAA. Goodman is with Gersh.
