This show has managed to survive — through COVID, through strikes — and we were able to still tell the story we wanted to tell and end it on our terms and wrap it up in a way

The creator and star of the hilarious HBO series tells IndieWire about casting his "Aloha" costar in a standalone prologue episode that pushed McBride and his crew to their creative edge.

I sent him the script and he called me back pretty quickly,” McBride tells PEOPLE before explaining what happened nextBradley Cooper may have needed just a little nudge to sign on to appear in the fourth and final season of The Righteous Gemstones.