How Righteous Gemstones And Succession Are Secretly The Same Show

HBO’s black comedy, The Righteous Gemstones, and the satirical drama, Succession, have a lot in common; are they secretly the same show? The Righteous Gemstones, created by Danny McBride, began airing in 2019 and follows a dysfunctional televangelist family. Danny McBride stars as Jesse, the eldest son of the Gemstone patriarch (played by John Goodman), who is blackmailed at the beginning of the series by a trio of masked figures who have in their possession footage of Jesse and his friends engaging in scandalous behavior that would damage the family’s reputation.

Succession, created by Jesse Armstrong, is a comedy-drama that focuses on the Roy family, owners of a global media conglomerate. Released a year before The Righteous Gemstones, Succession follows the familial struggles and tensions that emerge between the Roy siblings after their father, played by Brian Cox, falls ill. Jesse Armstrong, previously known for co-creating the hit British sitcom, Peep Show, uses his background in comedy writing to inject some much-needed levity into what can be, at times, a very serious drama.

The most glaring similarity between The Righteous Gemstones and Succession is the cast of characters. Both the Roys and the Gemstones’ families are composed of three siblings (excluding Connor from Succession, who is a half-brother), the family patriarch (both played by renowned actors) and an absent mother. In the case of The Righteous Gemstones, the mother is dead; and in Succession, she lives in the U.K. and only rarely appears in the series.

Of course, both series focus heavily on sibling rivalries. While in The Righteous Gemstones these scenes are more absurd, with Judy giggling every time Jesse or Kelvin get in trouble, for example; both shows feature witty banter between the siblings and extended use of profane language. There are also more specific similarities between the characters; both Kendall and Jesse, the two older siblings, do drugs regularly; Siobhan and Judy, the middle children, feel somewhat excluded from the family business and gradually attempt to integrate themselves into a male-dominated industry; and Roman and Kelvin, the youngest, both demonstrate inferiority complexes and are bullied by the older siblings.

There are also deeper comparisons to be made between the two series. Both The Righteous Gemstones and Succession deal with similar themes. The two shows explore how children brought up in wealthy families are corrupted by greed and because of this tend to lose sight of what’s most important in life. Both father figures are disappointed in their children’s behavior and have a hard time relating to them because of their different upbringings. The two HBO shows are all about the effects of opulence on individual morality and how greed can tear a family apart.

Needless to say, despite these similarities, the two shows differ greatly in tone and style. While both shows are comedic, The Righteous Gemstones is much more over the top than Succession. Tonally, it is more in line with Danny McBride’s previous HBO shows, Eastbound & Down, and Vice Principals. However, it’s clear that both The Righteous Gemstones and Succession deal with similar issues and themes and have a very similar premise.

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