Guess it’s about time I get to watching this one.
It’s been a hell of a week for TV watchers, as Ted Lasso, Succession, and Barry all aired their series finales over the past few days, with the later two running back to back on HBO last Sunday night.
But as the overused saying goes, the show must go on and HBO is stepping up to the plate.
Season 3 of Righteous Gemstones, a comedy which follows the lives of a world-famous televangelist family, is set to debut on June 18th and the trailer just dropped. Along with the already star studded cast of John Goodman, Danny McBride, Edi Patterson, and Adam Devine, a bunch of new additions are spotlighted, including Steve Zahn, Kristen Johnston, and the one and only Sturgill Simpson.
Things got pretty quiet for Sturgill after he released The Ballad Of Dood & Juanita, his final album as a solo artist, in August of 2021 and had to undergo treatment for ruptured vocal cords shortly after, but appearances from the enigmatic Stu are starting to pop up much more frequently, much to all of our delight.
On the music front, he performed “When It Comes To You” for the John Anderson Tribute Album, featured on Diplo’s latest “country” project, and produced a whole slew of albums, while also lending his on camera talents to a few films and shows, like Killers Of The Flower Moon.
And now, we get to see Sturgill stepping in for a role in the Danny McBride creation, who has previously spoken highly of Sturgill in an interview with Pitchfork back in 2019.
“I love Sturgill Simpson. I’ve gotten to know him over the last few years, too, and he’s a buddy of mine.
I just respect his journey. I respect that he’s been doing what he’s doing and found success not when he was 19 years old. He kind of lived a whole life before he became a rock star. And he actively wants to shed people’s perceptions of him.
He leads the charge in his career, and not in a way that people expect. I think that’s admirable. I feel like it’s the kind of thing we try to do with what we make as well, always trying to stay ahead of the audience and not trying to get boxed into a corner.”
Not getting boxed into a corner is perhaps an understatement for Sturgill, who’s albums have ranged from classic country to psychedelic inspired to sleezy rock to bluegrass.
Regardless of the medium, it’s great to see Sturgill back in action. Or does this look like the second coming of the Dick Daddy himself? If you know, you know…
You can watch the trailer here and catch up on the first two seasons streaming now on HBO Max.
And how about a Sturgill classic while we’re at it.
