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The Daily Star, Oneonta, N.Y., Friday, August 16, 2019 4 By Kyla Brewer TV Media T elevangelism allows millions of Christians to celebrate their faith through the magic of television. For many, it's a saving grace. However, a new comedy takes a look at what happens when a morally corrupt family dupes good and honest people into parting with their hard-earned money, all in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. John Goodman ("The Conners") stars as Eli Gemstone, the patriarch of a family of televangelists prone to deviance and greed, in the new comedy "The Righteous Gemstones," premiering Sunday, Aug. 18, on HBO. The series follows the world- famous family as they pursue wealth under the guise of serving Jesus. The series was created by Danny McBride ("Vice Principals), who also co-stars, writes and directs some of the episodes. While it may seem as if the new comedy is poised to make fun of Christianity, McBride has insisted that "The Righteous Gemstones" is in no way meant to ridicule religion. Instead, it's a satirical look at a family that doesn't practice what they preach. "I would not pass judgment on other people," McBride explained at this summer's Television Critics Association press tour as quoted in a July article on ew.com. "For us, it's about lampooning a hypocrite, lampooning somebody who presents themselves one way and is not that way." An unscrupulous, unyielding church leader known the world over for his aggressive salvation techniques and popular TV program, Eli definitely fits the bill of "hypocrite". The merciless patriarch doesn't take any guff from anyone, especially his grown children. His light may be starting to fade, but the other Gemstones are ready to take up the charge. Eli's eldest son, Jesse (McBride), is the heir apparent to his father's televangelist empire. He hopes to modernize their ministry for today's audience as he tries to blaze his own path. Eli's other son, Kelvin (Adam Devine, "Workaholics"), represents the new generation of devotees with his hip hairstyle and edgy fashion. Meanwhile, Eli's daughter, Judy (Edi Patterson, "Partners"), stands in the shadows of her brothers and father as they take the lead in the chauvinistic church. The new comedy features a roster of supporting players who help bring the story to life. Jesse's wife, Amber (Cassidy Freeman, "Smallville"), gave up a career in journalism to focus on her family and the church. Judy's fiancé, BJ (Tim Baltz, "Shrink"), struggles to find his place among the eccentric Gemstone family. Ex- Satanist Keefe Chambers (Tony Cavalero, "School of Rock") has been dedicated to serving the Lord and the Gemstones since Kelvin saved him from evil. Meanwhile, Eli relies on the sage counsel of conservative friend Martin Imari (Greg Alan Williams, "Remember the Titans," 2000). "The Righteous Gemstones" is undoubtedly one of the most highly anticipated summer series, in no small part thanks to Goodman's casting. One of the rare talents equally praised for his dramatic work and his comedic appearances, Goodman is practically prime- time gold. He rose to fame as Dan Conner in the original run of the ABC sitcom "Roseanne," which aired from 1988 to 1997, and later reprised his role in the 2018 revival of the series. The show has since been retooled without Barr as "The Conners," which is set to return for a second season this fall. His other television work includes memorable roles in "The West Wing" and HBO's "Treme." On the big screen, he's known for his frequent collaborations with Joel and Ethan Coen, having appeared in their films "Raising Arizona" (1987), "Barton Fink" (1991), "The Big Lebowski" (1998) and "O Brother, Where Art Thou" (2000), among others. Goodman is also famous for his work in such popular mainstream movies as "The Flintstones" (1994) and "Monsters, Inc." (2001). coverstory Cassidy Freeman in a scene from "The Righteous Gemstones" Holy high rollers: Greedy, seedy evangelists take center stage in 'The Righteous Gemstones' By Adam Thomlison TV Media Q: Tom Selleck has a reputation for being precise about the weapons he uses in his roles. So why is "Blue Bloods" so full of discrepancies? Why does Frank wear a heavy sweater at the lunch table when the women have on summer tops? Why is Danny the only Reagan with a New York accent? A: "Blue Bloods" is a hugely popular and successful show — now going into its 10th season on CBS — but it's hard to deny you have a point. Indeed, you're not saying anything critics haven't been saying all along. Way back in the show's very first season, Britain's the Guardian newspaper criticized the show for, essentially, being lazy, and jokingly offered an eight-step guide to writing a "Blue Bloods" script. To your first point, Step 5 is "insert random and wholly unavoidable error." The article points to similar clothing inconsistencies (and, because the Guardian is British, it also points to a mistake in how the characters played cricket in one episode). More recently, the New York Post weighed in on the accent question, including Amy Carlson and Donnie Wahlberg (Linda and Danny on the show) on its list of "terrible TV accents that'll have you reaching for the earplugs." They even called in professional dialect coach Patricia Fletcher to help make fun of Carlson and Wahlberg, but it backfired, in a way — Fletcher went easy on them but said, "If we want to complain about the New York dialects, we really should be critiquing co-stars Tom Selleck [who plays Frank on the show] and Len Cariou [Henry]." But you asked why these things are happening, and there's a pretty short answer to that: It doesn't seem to matter. Any criticism you want to level at this show can be refuted with two simple words: "Season 10." People love this show, and so CBS loves this show and keeps renewing it, and so the costumers, writers and actors will keep doing the same job they're doing. Why wouldn't they? As for Selleck's previous attention to detail regarding firearms, there's another simple answer: Guns aren't accents and they aren't sweaters. It seems that Selleck's careful attention to guns had more to do with his being a firearm aficionado — he's a former (and maybe current) member of the National Rifle Association and donated a number of his old movie guns to the National Firearms Museum in Virginia. Have a question? Email us at questions@tvtabloid.com. Please include your name and town. Personal replies will not be provided. hollywoodQ&A Towne Floring 3 x 2 The Powell Company 2 x 2

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