Evil (TV Series) by Robert & Michelle King

First of all, let me be clear that I am not a fan of horror movies or horror tv series, well not those that are outright creepy, disturbing or scary ones anyways. So, I don't really watch tv series like American Horror Story, The Haunting of Hill House and The Haunting of Bly Manor, to name a few. But I have explored other limited series like Epix's Chapelwaite (2021), an eight part series starring Adrian Brody based on a Stephen King's short story, and BBC/FX's Black Narcissus (2020), a three part series starring Gemma Arterton based on a novel by Rumer Godden, to name a few. Mostly gothic horror or movies/series that are 'hybrids' with elements of dark horror (usually hinted at but never visceral) interwoven with drama. But Evil, a TV series from Robert & Michelle King, is very original in its approach to the horror/drama genre. First shown in 2019 on CBS with the second and third season airing on Paramount+, the fourth season of the series will be premiering on 23rd May, 2024 with the (four episode) fifth and final season airing a week later. The series is written and produced by the well known husband/wife team, Robert & Michelle King, who are responsible for TV series like the legal drama The Good Wife and its spin-off The Good Fight. Currently, they are involved in another spin-off of The Good Wife, Elsbeth (a police procedural comedy drama) which premiered on CBS early this year. Since its debut, Evil has garnered a loyal audience and critical praise for its character performances, writing, direction and cinematography. However, I personally feel that the series, despite being excellent, suffered low viewership due to the less than stellar publicity given to it by the networks, the sudden shift from CBS to Paramount+ and the erratic and often delayed airing dates of the season episodes. Hence, resulting in the premature axing of the series this year. Another factor that contributed to the demise of the series is the writers' strike. 

Despite being tagged as a 'supernatural drama', Evil has many elements of horror intertwined with religious themes. Truly a departure from the legal dramas that have been the Kings' mainstay. The series actually capitalizes on our fascination with religion and horror, which is seeing a resurgence with many movies like The Nun and The Pope's Exorcist, while exploring the age old theme of good versus evil. So what is the series basically about? It concerns a Catholic seminarian and later priest, Father David Acosta (Mike Colter-Luke Cage), aided by a forensic psychologist and lapsed Catholic, Dr Kristen Bouchard (Katja Herbers) and a technical expert who was formerly a Muslim turned atheist,  Ben Shakir (Aasif Mandvi), who is hired by the Catholic Church to investigate purported supernatural events. In the course of their bizarre investigations (we are talking about cases that are straight out of  the X-Files), they encounter many elements of evil that tests not only their faith and strengths but which starts to blur the lines of reality. Throughout the series, the team is also dogged by Dr Leland Townsend (played devilishly by Michael Emerson-Person of Interest), also a forensic psychologist who dabbles in the occult and who frequently encourages others to commit evil acts. He also has a strange obsession with Kristen and her family. 

Although the Christian faith and its symbolism is predominantly featured in this series, it does explore the beliefs of other religions too as evidenced by the third episode of Season 2 entitled 'F is for Fire' which concerns a foster child of  Catholic-Muslim parents possessed by an 'ifrit' or 'fire jinn'. As I said earlier, despite being labeled as a 'supernatural drama', viewers should not underestimate the series' ability to surprise them with pure moments of horror like in Kristen's nightly visits by the demon George or the fourth episode of Season 2 entitled 'E is for Elevator' which is a thinly veiled tribute to Japanese horror. So is Evil a horror series? Yes, but it is also so much more than that. Currently, I don't think there is anything on TV that is more original than this series which combines all elements of the supernatural, horror, dark humor and drama so seamlessly. Kudos to the Kings for taking a risk with this series and perhaps with lesser known actresses or actors like Katja Herbers and Aasif Mandvi who are both wonderful as the lead characters. Special mention also goes to veteran actress Christine Lahti's performance as Kristen's mum. While waiting anxiously for the final season(s), I can't help but feel that it is a shame that this series is ending abruptly. Although the series was not given the full credit it deserves during its run, I at least hope that Paramount+ will give the series a good send off it deserves.

Lastly, for those who are curious about this series, you should binge on the first three seasons first before viewing the final fourth and fifth seasons to have a fuller understanding and experience of the show.  For me, the series has been a fun (albeit unpredictable) ride which is coming to an end. 

I have provided links below for those wanting to catch up on the first three seasons. 

Evil Amazon Prime (paid link)

Evil Season 1 Blu-Ray Amazon US (paid link)

Evil Season 2 Blu-Ray Amazon US (paid link)

Evil Season 3 Blu-Ray Amazon US (paid link)

Addendum (8th July 2024) : Recently discovered a very good article from Collider by Lloyd Farley regarding this TV series and its impending demise. The link to the article is provided below.

One of the Best Rated & Most Watched Show on TV Got Cancelled-So What Happened? (Collider) by Lloyd Farley

Addendum (25th August 2024) : For fans of Evil who watched the finale of the series on 22nd August 2024, you know now that there will be no fifth season with extra 4 episodes but instead these last 4 episodes were shown as part of the fourth season which has a total of 14 episodes. It seems that the Kings and the cast are willing to do more seasons but Paramount+ has decided to axe the series due to budget issues.