The fourth and final season of the HBO dark comedy, The Righteous Gemstones, premiered in March 2025. The first episode was a treat for fans of The Walking Dead as three actors from the series appeared. Josh McDermitt, Lew Temple, and Ethan McDowell were featured in the flashback episode set during the Civil War. Now, season 1 alum, Michael Rooker, has also joined the series' cast.
HBO ordered the pilot for The Righteous Gemstones in 2018. The series, created by Danny McBride, who also starred, wrote, and directed, and also executive produced with Jody Hill and David Gordon Green, has been nominated for several awards and has been positively received.
The Righteous Gem Stones cast
The story tells of the Gemstone family of South Carolina-based televangelists and megachurch pastors. The family's patriarch, Dr. Elijah "Eli" Gemstone II (John Goodman), and his immature adult children, Jesse (McBride), Judy (Edi Patterson), and Kelvin (Adam DeVine), live in the lap of luxury, compliments of the church donations from their parishioners.
Other cast members include Tony Cavalero, Cassidy Freeman, Gregory Alan Williams, Tim Baltz, Skyler Gisondo, Dermot Mulroney, Walton Goggins, Jennifer Nettles, and M. Emmet Walsh. The series also features a long list of notable guest stars, including Macaulay Culkin, Bradley Cooper, Marla Maples, Joe Jonas, John Amos, and more.
The third episode of The Righteous Gemstones' fourth season, “To Grieve Like the Rest of Men Who Have No Hope,” Michael Rooker is listed in the credits. But this has caused much confusion as Rooker, who is hard to miss, wasn't seen in the episode.
Many viewers believe him to be a masked intruder, who in a nightmare experienced by Kelvin, broke into the family home to steal the bible Elijah Gemstone, played by Bradley Cooper, stole in episode 1. This would be a perfect role for an actor who often portrays unsavory types.
It is likely he will appear in another episode as the video below, posted by Rooker on Instagram, features him learning to ski for the series.
Rooker is well known for his roles as Merle Dixon, brother of Daryl (Norman Reedus), in The Walking Dead, and as Yondu, adoptive father of Peter Quill (Chris Pratt), in the Guardians of the Galaxy series of movies. He also starred in James Gunn's DC movies The Suicide Squad and Creature Commandos.
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