First-time Emmy nominee Christina Flannery joined Max’s Critically acclaimed comedy-drama The Righteous Gemstones in its third season in Charleston, South Carolina, where she overcame challenges sourcing wardrobe items and shipping fabric from New York. “This show is heightened, and as a designer overall, I generally like to really push it,” adds the costume designer.
Created by Danny McBride, the show follows the wealthy and corrupt televangelist family, the Gemstones, as they lead a megachurch. Combining satire and drama, it explores the hypocrisy that often accompanies money and power. The latest season sees the patriarch Eli Gemstone (John Goodman) try to enjoy semi-retirement as his kids Jesse (McBride), Judy (Edi Patterson), and Kelvin (Adam Devine) struggle to overcome their petty grievances and succeed him as church leaders.
There are designer pieces, an oyster shell costume, and more jeans than you can count – the clothes are over-the-top and even ridiculous but always grounded in reality. The costume came together after Flannery pitched the idea to McBride and was pleasantly surprised when Gemstone’s star Walter Goggin’s lit up as he tried on the shell.
“I would say [the Shell] was the most difficult but most rewarding costume because Walton [Goggins], another amazing actor that I worked with before, his face lit up when he saw it,” recalls Flannery. “He was like, “Oh, God, what have you gotten me into this time, Christina?””
Flannery spoke to Awards Focus about joining the production in Charleston, costuming her idol John Goodman, following TikTok pastors for inspiration, and what became the most expensive piece on set.
Awards Focus: You’re joining production on the third season in Charleston. How does a location inform the work of a costume designer?
Christina Flannery: I’m from the South. I have worked in New Orleans a lot, and that’s where my career started. It is different, a little bit more like Bachelorette parties, posh, and old oil money.
What you see on TV is how it is. You see people walking down the street that look like BJ [Tim Baltz], and you see a lot of pastels. It’s the only place where you can see groups of guys wearing pastels and polos and all kinds of silly, fun things like that.
This show is heightened. It’s obviously based in some form of reality, but it is heightened, and as a designer overall, I generally like to really push it.
I did a lot of research before I got the project. I went on TikTok, which I didn’t have, and was looking at hype priests. I do feel like somebody like Kelvin [Adam Devine] would be on TikTok, trying to stay cool and trying to stay relevant. Meanwhile, Jesse [Danny McBride] is a southern throwback to George Jones, Johnny Cash, and then smoosh, all together with Tony Soprano.
My daughter goes to some megachurches with her grandparents, so she’ll send me little sneak shots of these kind of people, and those people are here. There’s this Instagram called ‘PreachersNSneakers,’ which takes these priests and says, “This guy’s wearing $1400 shoes, and this guy is wearing a $2000 Gucci jacket,” so an influx is happening.
AF: You mentioned the megachurches, and I’m curious how much your own background with religion informs your work on a show like this.
Flannery: When I was younger, I was a Mennonite. Having my mom sow my clothes definitely jump-started my love of clothes and my understanding that religion and clothing often go hand in hand.
With Judy [Edi Patterson], Aimee-Leigh [Jennifer Nettles], and Tiffany [Valyn Hall], they’re leaning into the Tammy Faye Bakker and that flashy, stunted element. When I was in religion and with the people I knew, you were kind of in a bubble. So, it’s a juxtaposition of Judy wanting to be seen in a certain kind of way but not really understanding what’s cool, and maybe it’s 5 to 10 years dated.
AF: Working with actors, specifically with John Goodman, who plays Dr. Eli Gemstone, what were those fitting room experiences like? Eli’s in a lot of linen this season.
Flannery: John Goodman’s Eli is retired, and we wanted to lean into that with the linen. It’s also miserably hot here. I’m such a major Cohen brothers’ fan, so I’m very shy around him, I will be honest. He’s such an icon to me and somebody that I grew up watching. My dad literally doesn’t give a shit about anybody else, he’s like, “John Goodman is all we care about.”
He is one of the easiest actors I’ve ever had to work with. It doesn’t hurt that he’s basically Margaritaville Tommy Bahama vibes. Going into this, we’re leaning more into that.
I think [John] ‘s very happy, last season and this season, because he can kind of loosen up and wear these really comfortable shoes. It is kind of who he is; he lives in New Orleans. It’s a nice little marriage of him and his character.
AF: We talked a little bit about Kelvin, but could you expand on his style this season? He wears a lot of jeans; the costume department must’ve had a truckload of jeans specifically for him.
Flannery: One thing that I really wanted to lean into with him was that he’s a sneaker guy. Not only does he have a shitload of jeans, but he has a shitload of shoes, too. Every outfit has a shoe, and that is exactly the kind of person he is.
He wouldn’t wear the same things twice. His jeans are wild and crazy, and his overall look is so designer, but it’s too full. He’s wearing an off-white belt, and we know that off-white belts were very popular four years ago, but again, he’s stunted and doesn’t have access, so he’s like, “I want that off-white belt,” and there we go. He’s a really fun character to dress for sure.
AF: Is there an item in particular this past season that was the most difficult to get or most difficult to create?
Flannery: Of course, it would be the oyster shell costume. That was a process that started from the very beginning, me pitching the idea to Danny, being like, “Oh, God, I hope he goes for it ’cause it’s kind of insane.”
I pitched that to him, then went to LA, bought the fabrics, and worked on the oyster shell itself, figuring out how to make it stand and comfortable. He uses it to play and turns around in it, and you want the front and the back to look incredible. So, I would say that one was the most difficult but the most rewarding costume because Walton [Goggins], another amazing actor that I worked with before, seeing his face light up when he saw the costume, he was like, “Oh, God, what have you gotten me into this time, Christina?”
AF: I want to ask specifically about the Cape and Pistol Society costumes because they look stunning. There are so many little details, like the tiny pistols and the badges. Not only that but there are also many characters wearing these costumes. As you’re based in Charleston, have you ever had issues with shipments being delayed?
Flannery: Thank you for noticing the details. There are so many little, tiny things that we wanted to tie together. With Charleston, I mean, the biggest issue that my crew and I ran into was that there’s nothing there. We don’t even have a Nordstrom, and I think people tend to forget that. Everything we have to do has to be shipped in. At that point, we were still dealing with remnants of COVID issues.
We did a lot of fabric swatching and ended up finding the fabric in New York. We had to get it shipped in, and then my tailor Aughra Moon built a generic form of it. We then shipped a lot of it out to another amazing person I work with in Chicago named Michelle, who whipped them all up and shipped them back.
AF: In episode 7, “Burn for Burn, Wound for Wound, Stripe for Stripe,” the Gemstone siblings get kidnapped, and your main cast is in one costume throughout much of the episode. I am curious about the headaches that present for your department and how many backups you have.
Flannery: Thank you again for noticing that. We wanted to really push that element of Judy and this ridiculous flamingo costume that would show a lot of dirt—the same with Jesse and his white pants. I would say we probably had eight options for Judy, and Jesse had six pants and six shirts made. Kelvin’s was a little bit easier as he had leopard print, but it was still weird.
It was a lot of work because we generally shoot things backward. So, we didn’t necessarily go from clean to dirty. We shot the hospital scene first, which is the final part, and then we kind of broke it up into different parts. So, it’s a lot of work to be able to do all that. Even on this season, I’m like, “Are we going to shoot it dirty to clean, or are we going to shoot it in the middle?” Shooting in the middle and then going one way or the other is even harder, but we push it, we like to go ridiculous. I think nothing’s funnier than seeing her in this ridiculous pink flamingo costume.
AF: Was there one designer piece specifically that was difficult to get, or was it the most expensive item on set?
Flannery: In the funeral scene, which is such a quick scene, Judy’s wearing a vintage Bob Mackie dress. I had to have this dress. Judy was so down for anything. I don’t even think she stands up in that scene, so it was heartbreaking in a way, but you can still see it. I think the Guild posted it, and they tagged Bob Mackie. Mackie liked it, and I said, “I can die happy now.”