Merriam-Webster may have helped popularize the English language, but the triad of linguistic lunacy known as Jesse (Danny McBride), Judy (Edi Patterson), and Kelvin Gemstone (Adam DeVine) perfected it. The delightfully deranged siblings at the heart of HBO’s beloved comedy The Righteous Gemstones, which is set to say goodbye after four seasons of outrageous shenanigans on Sunday, May 4, radiate the kind of effortless comedic chemistry that would make Antoine-Laurent Lavoisier blush.
Lavoisier is, obviously, the founder of modern chemistry. A fact I definitely knew and didn’t just learn after searching the phrase “who’s good at chemistry?”
The end of the Gemstones will be felt across the television landscape. The series isn’t as buzzy as The White Lotus and perhaps doesn’t draw a crowd around the water cooler like The Last of Us, but the comedy is a first ballot “if you know, you know” hall of famer. The show succeeded for many reasons — creator Danny McBride’s vision, exceptional writing, and the sensational ensemble cast top the list — but what elevates the Gemstones to a rarified strata few TV comedies reach is Edi Patterson’s fearless portrayal of erratic middle child Judy Gemstone.
The secret sauce that gives The Righteous Gemstones its unique comedic flavor, Patterson imbues Judy with a hilarious blend of unpredictable venom and stealthy heart. If there were an award for most laughs delivered per minute of screentime, it’d go to Judy Gemstone. There are countless examples of Judy’s distinct theatrical flair — the classic Judy/BJ Outback Steakhouse scene is an all-timer — and they all share two attributes: hyper-specificity and the inimitable Gemstone dialect.
How does one explain the Gemstone dialect? I don’t know; how would you describe a rainbow to a snail, ya know? It’s impossible to capture its ineffable beauty, but one key element is an overabundance of plurals. For example, if you’re arguing with someone and they’re getting defensive, you might say, “I’m not trying to fight with you.”
Whereas Judy would say…
“I’m not trying to make fights” is a perfect example of how The Righteous Gemstones injects little snippets of humor into the smallest of spaces. It’s a style that McBride, who previously co-created and starred in Eastbound & Down and Vice Principals for HBO, and Patterson, a writer on TRG who portrayed eccentric civics teacher Jen Abbott in Vice Principals, have mastered during their creative partnership.
“That’s my favorite thing to do as a writer,” Patterson told Decider during a recent interview, “to make dialogue sound specific, funny, emotional, and to have some subtle heart in it.”
And sometimes, just trying to make each other laugh leads to on-screen magic.
“For instance, ‘datty’ with two T’s instead of two D’s. I remember writing that into a scene for Jesse to say,” Patterson said. “That was me, Edi, trying to make Danny laugh by putting two T’s and going ‘datty’ and making it fancier. And then that just becomes canon. Like, ‘Oh, clearly we all call him ‘datty’ sometimes.'”
Over the last five years, Judy Gemstone has morphed into the funniest character on television. She’s the queen of claptrap. The Rembrandt of rambling. TV’s undisputed poet laureate of nonsense. The character vacillates between every emotion, with unbridled rage and barely-concealed horniness often topping the charts.
Judy Gemstone is not an easy character to portray. In the hands of a lesser actor, Judy could have been grating and unlikable, but Patterson injects a chaotic whimsy into the middle Gemstone that makes her undeniably endearing.
If ever there were a perfect marriage between actor and character, it’s Edi Patterson and Judy Gemstone.
Patterson’s brilliant line reads should be studied… and not just in acting institutions. Look, should you legally be allowed to graduate from Cornell University with a Bachelor’s Degree in Hotel Administration and Hospitality if you haven’t ruminated about Patterson’s unrivaled comedic zeal?
Buddy, that’s above my pay grade, but it’s a hell no from me, dawg.
Some shows end with a polite golf clap from the audience, a respectful acknowledgment of a job well done. But comedy fans are going to feel the absence of The Righteous Gemstones in their bones. In a medium tethered to conformity, the series, like all Danny McBride shows, exudes a defiant originality that’ll sorely be missed.
I’m not quite ready to say goodbye to these deranged goofballs, especially the goofiest ball of them all: the one and only Judy Gemstone.
The series finale of The Righteous Gemstones airs Sunday, May 4 at 10:00 p.m. ET on HBO.