ComedianDanny McBridehas been the mastermind behind three comedy TV shows with HBO, and here are all three of them, ranked. McBride started his collaborations with HBO withEastbound & Down, which started in 2009 and ran for four seasons. Then, McBride reunited with HBO forVice Principals, which ran for two seasons, in 2016 and 2017. Danny McBride’s third show,The Righteous Gemstones, made its debut only two years later, with season 1 starting in 2019. 2025’sThe Righteous Gemstonesseason 4 will finish the series, meaning that it is time to look back at all of McBride’s works.
Danny McBride is an actor and comedian who has appeared in all kinds of incredibly popular films, such asThis Is the End,Pineapple Express, andHot Rod. While he has quickly become one of the most notable comedic actors working today, many viewers don’t realize how prolific his career behind the camera has been. Danny McBride has written and produced a variety of projects, such as the2018Halloweenreboot trilogy,Fatman, andThe Exorcist: Believer. However, McBride’s most notable contributions come in the form ofEastbound & Down,Vice Principals, andThe Righteous Gemstones.
All three of Danny McBride’s TV shows are some of the funniest comedy content that HBO has ever put out, and any ranking order would be valid. However, when it comes to this list,Vice Principalsis the lesser of the three Danny McBride shows.Vice Principalsfollows Danny McBride’s Neal Gambyand Walton Goggins' Lee Russell as co-vice principals at North Jackson High School, with the school’s administrative staff fighting as the previous principal retires. The hilarious comedy series lasted for two seasons, with it being the middle child of Danny McBride’s partnership with HBO.
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Vice Principalsis an incredible show, and fans ofEastbound & DownorThe Righteous Gemstoneswill undoubtedly find a lot of enjoyment in it. However, what is good aboutVice Principalscan be found even better in the other two shows.Vice Principalsisn’t as funny asEastbound & Down, and the story isn’t as good asThe Righteous Gemstones, meaning that it doesn’t stand out quite as much. WhileVice Principalsdid start McBride’s iconic collaboration with Walton Goggins, it doesn’t quite live up to the other two shows.
The second best ofDanny McBride’s HBO shows isEastbound & Down, the first product of his collaboration with the network.Eastbound & Downtells the story of Danny McBride’s Kenny Powers, a former professional baseball player who finds everything around him crumbling thanks to his self-destructive behavior. In an attempt to rebound, Powers begins teaching physical education at a middle school in North Carolina, leading to all kinds of shenanigans.
Of Danny McBride’s three HBO series,it is hard to deny thatEastbound & Downis the funniest. The series is absolutely hilarious, with it setting the stage for the style of comedy that was to come. While the filmmaking and storytelling isn’t quite as good asThe Righteous Gemstones, this is mostly because it was McBride’s first series. Despite this,Eastbound & Downis still a fantastic show, although it isn’t the best that McBride has to offer.
The Righteous Gemstones
Cast
The Righteous Gemstones follows the story of a renowned televangelist family, embroiled in a legacy marked by deviance, greed, and charitable acts, all under the guise of religious devotion. Released in 2019, the series explores their complex dynamics and the challenges they face in maintaining their public image.
The Righteous Gemstonesis Danny McBride’s most recent HBO show, and it is also his best.The Righteous Gemstonestells the story of the titular Gemstones, a family of wealthy televangelists who can’t seem to stay out of trouble. Danny McBride stars as Jesse Gemstone, with Edi Patterson, Adam DeVine, John Goodman, and Walton Goggins making up the rest ofThe Righteous Gemstones' cast. The four-season series spans multiple generations of the Gemstone family, with each new story bringing in new extended family members to cause trouble.
Every Fake The Righteous Gemstones Song, Ranked
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Of Danny McBride’s three HBO shows,The Righteous Gemstonestells the most complex story, narratively and thematically. The “Interlude” episodes andThe Righteous Gemstones' season 4 premiere prove that the storytelling from McBride and his team has grown immensely since the days ofEastbound & Down. While the series continues the profane comedy of McBride’s other two shows, there is so much to dig into when analyzingThe Righteous Gemstones. Thus, of the three Danny McBride shows,The Righteous GemstonestopsVice PrincipalsandEastbound & Down.
