Paramount+ series Evil is currently in its third season and was just renewed for a fourth — so it’s safe to say it has plenty of fans already gobbling up its unique blend of mystery, religion, monsters, and mayhem. But for anyone who needs more convincing, here are 10 reasons why you should be tuning in.
Evil follows the adventures of Father David Acosta (Luke Cage’s Mike Colter); forensic psychologist Dr. Kristen Bouchard (Westworld’s Katja Herbers); and tech expert Ben Shakir (Aasif Mandvi) as they investigate alleged supernatural phenomena on behalf of the Catholic Church. Evil mixes a sort of monster-of-the-week procedural format with the ongoing dramas swirling around its characters, though everything tends to wrap together with whatever spiritual conundrum the trio — one believer, one agnostic, and one atheist — happens to be investigating. Those are the Evil basics. But why should you watch? Keep reading!
It’s scary!
Evil is built around its many mysteries and the monsters that tend to accompany them. While the show’s cast of hissing, snarling demons (most are played by Marti Matulis) will never not be unsettling, over three seasons we’ve gotten used to seeing those pesky guys pop up and cause trouble. However, Evil isn’t just about jump scares (though it’s good at them) or gross-out moments (ditto; we’re still haunted by that blowfly infestation from “S Is for Silence” in season two). Its X-Files-ish paranormal puzzles are varied in subject matter but not eeriness (a haunted highway! A Slender Man-ish apparation! UFOs!), and it’s also very good at tapping into real-world dread, showing us just how sinister humans can be even without devilish assistance.
It’s tech-savvy
Speaking of sinister humans, a big theme on Evil is how malevolent forces have tapped into the wonders of the internet as a way to remain potent in the 21st century: trolling, manipulating children and other vulnerable people, hiring “influencers” to promote negativity, even messing with Google Street View to perpetuate a dangerous urban legend. This is on top of the show’s other uses of technology, including plots involving a “god helmet” that probes deep into the wearer’s brain to produce visions of what appear to be heaven or hell, and an elaborate experiment to see if a person loses the weight of their soul when they die. These all dovetail perfectly with the show’s frequent “science vs. faith” questions, and also make Evil’s more unexplainable situations all the more potent, since the team has access to cutting-edge equipment when working on their cases.
Father David and “the Entity”
David struggled mightily with his decision to become a Catholic priest as his ordination approached, but he finally went through with it at the end of season two. But he has a new conundrum in season three: “the Entity,” which the Vatican would rather you not call its secret service branch. In fact, it would rather you not know anything at all about its doings — something that proves frustrating for David when he’s recruited by their phantom-like emissary (a self-described “friend of the Vatican”), who delights in sending him on missions as urgent as they are random. Despite its setting and the fact that David is one of its main characters, Evil’s view of the Catholic Church often emphasises its negative aspects. As far as the Entity goes, are they good guys or bad guys or (more likely) occupying some nebulous grey area? Did David blow it by agreeing to join them? No doubt we’ll be pulling on this thread a lot more as the show progresses.
Sister Andrea
A no-nonsense nun who speaks her mind (forcefully when needed), who can perceive and interact with the otherwise invisible demons all around us, and is also played by comedy legend Andrea Martin? If there’s ever an Evil spin-off, it better be the Sister Andrea show.
Sheryl
Sheryl is another character who makes the most of every scene she’s in — and whose unique moral compass means sometimes she’s batting for the side of good, but other times is staunchly Team Bad. As played by Christine Lahti, Kristen’s mother Sheryl — who insists Kristen’s four daughters call her “Rad G” instead of “Grandma” — is a chaotic force of nature who’s always dressed quirkily to the nines. Her association with Leland (more on him next) is worrisome, but Sheryl’s wicked instincts are usually more amusing than troubling. Usually. That does not include her fondness for worshiping creepy dolls.
Leland Townsend
Insidious, smarmy, corrupt, deeply malevolent, and known fan of root beer, Leland (the wonderful Michael Emerson) — Kristen’s nemesis from the very start of season one — is hooked into some very dark forces, though we don’t think he’s actually a demon himself. After undergoing an exorcism (which he mostly faked) and currying favour with the Catholic Church, he’s recently wormed his way into an actual job working alongside David, Kristen, and Ben, though his “work” is mostly focused on sabotaging whatever they’re doing. He also harasses Kristen’s young daughters. Plus, there was that time last season Leland butchered his demonic therapist and cooked it into a goat stew, which he then served to an unsuspecting Sheryl. There’s no way of knowing what Leland is going to do next, other than the fact that it’s never good.
The freaky ongoing storylines
Evil has been suggesting the existence of an ancient demonic cabal plotting the end of the world — and flaunting the various “sigils” that represent its houses — since the beginning. The cabal, which of course Leland is involved in, also has a shadowy connection to a fertility clinic that helped Kristen and her husband conceive one of their four daughters. We know the Entity is keenly interested in the demonic houses, for its own reasons — but exactly what it all means is still pretty murky.
Ben and Kalima
Ben on his own is a charming nerd; Ben teamed up with his sister Karima (Sohina Sidhu) makes for a Nerd Power Team! With an expanded role this season, Karima — who happens to be Muslim, bringing some diversity to a show populated mostly by Catholics — steps in to share her considerable smarts when Ben needs a little extra help in his investigations, and to offer some friendly company when he has a near-nervous breakdown.
The guest stars
Wallace Shawn as a priest who seemingly comes back from the dead ! Tim Matheson as Sheryl’s unwholesome love interest! Renée Elise Goldsberry as a lawyer with a personal connection to Father David! The casting on Evil is always high-quality, from its leads to its supporting players (shout out to Kurt Fuller as Dr. Kurt Boggs, who has a hell of a time as Kristen’s therapist), and the guest stars are no exception.
The offbeat tone and all the weird details
For a show that addresses as many serious issues as it does, it also has an enduring love of gasp-inducing oddities — Sheryl’s awful dolls, an ongoing saga involving the plumbing issues that happen when you flush a preserved human head down a toilet, Leland’s proclivity for taking blood paths, giant naked demons on exercise bikes (that’s Sheryl’s boss at her cryptocurrency job, BTW)… and that is just barely, barely scratching the surface here.
New episodes of Evil stream Sundays on Paramount+. Grab yourself a canned margarita — Kristen’s favourite — and enjoy!
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