‘The Righteous Gemstones’ Season 4 Premiere: How Bradley Cooper Landed the Lead & When the Cast Returns

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Mar 13

**Bradley Cooper in ‘The Righteous Gemstones’ HBO**

The hit HBO series takes a shocking detour into the past, with an A-list guest star leading the way.

A Bold Season Opener That Breaks All Expectations

Fans of The Righteous Gemstones tuning in for the Season 4 premiere may have had a moment of confusion—was this still Danny McBride’s over-the-top televangelist satire? Instead of the familiar dysfunctional Gemstone family, the episode took viewers back to 1862, kicking off the final season in a completely unexpected way.

Titled Prelude, the 43-minute Civil War-era episode unfolds like a full-fledged historical drama—graphic violence and all—without a single member of the main cast in sight. Instead, the spotlight is entirely on Bradley Cooper, who delivers a gripping performance as an ancestor of the Gemstone dynasty. His character’s transformation from a ruthless opportunist—willing to kill, con, and pose as a Confederate chaplain for money—to a divinely “redeemed” figure lays the foundation for the family’s televangelist empire.

While The Righteous Gemstones is known for its outrageous humor and contemporary satire, this ambitious departure into historical drama serves as both a cinematic spectacle and a narrative bridge, showing how deception, power, and faith intertwined to create the Gemstone legacy.

How Bradley Cooper Ended Up Leading the Episode

Cooper’s casting marks a major television return for the actor, who rose to fame with The Hangover and once headlined the short-lived Fox sitcom Kitchen Confidential. Though he has largely stayed away from TV in recent years, Preludegives him his most significant small-screen role in over a decade—one that might even land him his first Emmy nomination to go along with his five Oscar acting nods.

So how did the Maestro star end up in this unexpected role? During a March 5 post-screening panel, series creator Danny McBride admitted that casting someone with enough gravitas to carry the episode alone was a challenge.

“I knew it would be a tough role because this show is obviously an ensemble,” McBride explained. “There are so many incredible actors here that the audience is showing up for, and to invite the audience back after the show’s been off for a little bit and not be any of these beautiful faces, it just had to be somebody who was more beautiful than all of us.”

McBride and his Rough House Pictures producing partner, Brandon James, brainstormed potential stars who could pull off the complex role. McBride casually suggested, “Somebody like Bradley Cooper.” Instead of dismissing it as wishful thinking, James pushed for them to actually send Cooper the script.

To their surprise, Cooper responded quickly and enthusiastically.

“He had actually never seen Gemstones before,” McBride revealed. “And then he didn’t want to watch it until we were done shooting, because he didn’t want to have it influence his performance, which I thought was pretty smart. Surprisingly, I think he feels like a Gemstone regardless.”

The Cast Reacts to the Unexpected Premiere

For the series’ main cast, the script for Prelude came as a shock. Adam DeVine, who plays Kelvin Gemstone, recalled his disbelief upon reading it.

“I couldn’t believe that we weren’t in the first episode,” DeVine admitted. “And then when Danny told me they got Bradley Cooper, I’m like, maybe he does the rest of the season.”

But while Cooper delivered a powerhouse performance in the premiere, his character’s story is self-contained. The Gemstone family will return next week, bringing the series back to its modern-day televangelist chaos.

What’s Next for the Gemstones?

With the core cast—including McBride, DeVine, John Goodman, Edi Patterson, and Walton Goggins—set to return, the show will shift back to its familiar high-energy mix of satire and absurdity. However, the history lesson of Prelude will likely echo throughout the season, providing deeper context for the Gemstone family’s rise to power.

As The Righteous Gemstones embarks on its final season, McBride and his team are proving that they’re willing to take big swings—even if it means sidelining the entire main cast for a Civil War-era epic starring one of Hollywood’s biggest names.