After four seasons and six years, The Righteous Gemstones is coming to an end, and no one is more distraught about it than Kelvin and Keefe — or rather, the actors who bring the beloved characters to life.
Sitting down with Decider to chat about the fourth and final season of the Danny McBride HBO comedy, Adam DeVine and Tony Cavalero opened up about the “bittersweet” ending to their show about a southern televangelist family that became so much more than just another comedy.
“It was tough, bittersweet for sure. Because this has been our life for four seasons but over six years,” DeVine said. “This is our family. So it was hard but I think we stuck the landing. This season, the fourth season, is the best yet.”
And the Pitch Perfect actor isn’t joking. This season has received rave reviews and had some of its best episodes in the entire run, including Episode 4, “He Goeth Before You Into Galilee,” which sees the Gemstones visiting their lakehouse. In that episode, Cavalero’s character dresses up in clothes belonging to the late Gemstones matriarch, Aimee-Leigh (Jennifer Nettles), in an attempt to scare Eli (John Goodman) out of his new relationship with Lori Milsap (Megan Mullally). Things do not go according to plan, though, as Baby Billy’s (Walton Goggins) nanny steps in and issues a beating like no other.
“Oh, man. That was insane. I was like, ‘Oh, do the stunt, we’ll just go half up [the stairs], great. And first shot, boom, landed right on my head, seeing stars,” the actor said. “And I went just flying down the stairs and caught myself on stair three and everybody was like, ‘That wasn’t Tony, was it?’ I was seeing stars for like 45 minutes.”
It’s been a long (and surprisingly brutal) journey for the pair, one that is soon to end when Episode 9, the series finale, airs on May 4. But the finale doesn’t have to be the end. The actors say they would be more than willing to reprise their roles, but maybe not in the way fans would think. Check out our full interview with Cavaelro and DeVine below.
DECIDER: What was your reaction to finding out that this would be the Gemstones’ swan song?
TONY CAVALERO: I took it great. I took it really well.
ADAM DEVINE: You cried…
CAVALERO: I cried a lot, yeah, I cried a lot.
DEVINE: Tony cried for like the last two and a half months of shooting. It was weird because Danny, I think, didn’t want to tell people that it was the last season because he didn’t just want people to cry the whole time because we loved doing the show so much, so he kind of kept it close to the vest. But he would be like, “I’m thinking it might be the last,” like in private. And then it wasn’t until the last few months that — because we’re there for like half a year — so then it was in the last couple months he was like, “It is actually going to be the last.” And it was tough, bittersweet for sure. Because this has been our life, four seasons, but over six years. And it got us through some hard times. The pandemic, the strike…
And you welcomed a child [with wife Chloe Bridges] in that time, too.
DEVINE: Yeah, my child was there, living in Charleston, which was such a trip. But yeah, this is our family so it was hard, but I think we stuck the landing. This season, the fourth season, is the best yet.
And it’s given us some incredible scenes and episodes. Is there a moment or an episode that you are most excited for fans to see?
DEVINE: I think that for me, it’s his turn as Aimee-Leigh. That was a wild scene.
CAVALERO: Oh, man. That was insane. I was like, “Oh, do the stunt, we’ll just go half up [the stairs], great.” And first shot, boom, landed right on my head, seeing stars. I have to dodge two punches. The first time we do it, she throws me towards the stairs, and I’m in a silk dress. We hadn’t rehearsed it. And I went just flying down the stairs and caught myself on stair three and everybody was like, “That wasn’t Tony, was it?” I was seeing stars for like 45 minutes.
DEVINE: I like how I was sitting in video village when all that was happening and Danny was like “Dude, we told him the stunt guy can do all this. Like, I don’t know why he’s doing this.”
Yeah, that’s one the fans are going to be crazy for. I have to assume that after four seasons and six years, you’ve had some memorable interactions with fans or haters. Is there one that sticks out to you?
DEVINE: I really haven’t run into many haters of the show, mostly it’s very hushed tones of like, “I can’t believe we like this naughty show, like we’re a religious family.” And I’m like, “I can’t hear you, you’re whispering, we’re in an airport.” I think for the most part, everyone’s very supportive of the show.
CAVALERO: My stepsister messaged me the other day and was like, “My friends just started Gemstones. They want to know if that’s your real penis.” And “I’m going to skip that episode when we finally decide to watch it.” And I was just like, “OK, cool.” But it’s so funny because I get the same thing where people are kind of low down like, “I grew up in the church and I love that show.” It’s like a secret. And then and then I get like Keefe-heads who are like, “Thank you for representing us on screen.” And I mean, I told this story before, but like I was in New Orleans right after Season 1 and there was a coffee shop in this hotel we were staying at. I went to go get a coffee and I got my coffee for free for the next three days. There was this barista who had tattoos from here [gestures to the neck] all the way down. On day three, he give me the coffee and was like, “Thank you so much for the character you play. I don’t know if you know how much it impacts us.” It was just wild. I have a lot of great interactions from folks like that.
And you guys have the unique opportunity to play a gay Christian love story, which is something not a lot of actors can say they’ve done. What has it been like for you to bring that to the screen?
DEVINE: It’s cool, I’ve gotten some people — some young gay guys — that were like, “Thank you so much. I grew up in the church, this show means a lot.” You know, same way that Tony relates to the satanists, I relate to the gays.
CAVALERO: I mean, for me, it’s just about how to do justice to this story and how the story evolved. Number one, we just want to do justice to the script and the characters, and it was just the fact that it like kind of organically came to this beautiful love story that this audience was lifting up. I just can’t wait for my moms to see the finale, they’re gonna freak.
It’s a great finale. I know the hot thing is for TV shows to come back. Would you guys ever do a one-off or a movie? Danny said he would love to do a live show.
DEVINE: That’s what Danny’s saying. I’m like, “Okay man, anything, yeah.” I think he just doesn’t want to write a whole movie. I don’t want him to do that. I don’t want him to do a live show.
CAVALERO: You guys write your bits in there, we’ll put them up.
Last question: This show will forever have some of the best live shows.
DeVine: “Running around the house with a pickle in my mouth” is a fan favorite in my neck of the woods.
CAVALERO: “I’d even kill myself if you asked me to.” It just sums up Keefe in every sense. And the other one is like, “I’d cut my tongue out with a pair of rusty shears and bury it six feet deep.“
The Righteous Gemstones Season 4 is currently streaming on Max. New episodes air Sundays at 7 PM PT on HBO and Max.
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