Evil manages to make compelling television for four seasons about what is good and evil. What is good and what is evil? Why do people do bad things to each other? Is it something inherent in ourselves? Or is there a higher power behind it? The series "Evil" explores these questions. It ran for four seasons on CBS and Paramount+, with a total of 50 episodes. It can be seen on SkyShowtime in the Netherlands.
The story centers on Kristen Brouchard (Katja Herbers), a forensic psychiatrist who examines serious criminals. After a trial ends in disaster for her, the Catholic Church recruits her for a special assignment. Along with priest-in-training David Acosta (Mike Colter) and technology expert Ben Shakir (Aasif Mandvi), she investigates supernatural phenomena and the theological origins of evil. In this new role, she faces off against her former colleague and rival, Leland Townsend (Michael Emerson), who claims to have sold his soul to the devil.
Don't expect horror in the traditional sense of the word
Evil is often labeled a horror, but don't expect any horror in the traditional sense here. We see few spontaneous jump scares or gory scenes. The horror in this series lies mainly in the uncertainty surrounding the improbable. When Kristen and her colleagues solve a case and offer a perfectly logical solution, they often hint at a deeper story. And therein lies the show's strength. It makes it unpredictable and gets under your skin in a good way.
Evil is also a successful drama series about faith and ethics. It raises questions about good and evil and the doubts that come with them. The dilemmas of Kristen, Ben, and David regarding their own beliefs are perfectly portrayed by the excellent performances of Herbers, Colter, and Mandvi. Besides serious drama, Evil also offers a healthy dose of lightheartedness and dark humor, particularly from the elderly nun Andrea (Andrea Martin), Kristen's mother Sheryl (Christine Lahti), and her four daughters, whose names all begin with L.
While each episode of Evil essentially deals with a single, unfinished case, there's a common thread running through each season. While the individual cases aren't all equally strong, there are definitely gems among them. The larger, overarching storyline, on the other hand, is incredibly interesting and consistently strong. However, I did find the ending a bit rushed. During production of season four, it was announced that it would be the final season. Therefore, the writers used the final four episodes to definitively wrap up the story. And while that ending is fine, I felt it could have been more if the creators had had more time to develop their ideas.
The creators of Evil excel in design and style
Another area where Evil excels is in its design. Everything is beautifully filmed, and the dark atmosphere of the series aligns well with the dark themes and melancholic tone. Although this isn't often mentioned in reviews, I find the episode titles and the surrounding design to be particularly creative. Each season has a different overarching theme. For example, each episode in the third season is titled "The Demon of...", and in the fourth season, it's "How to..." The themes and design incorporated in these titles, in turn, tie in beautifully with the storyline.
I enjoyed the four seasons of Evil. It's not your typical horror series, but it's incredibly captivating television thanks to the strong acting and interesting themes. Although the story seems to have wrapped up after four seasons, the creators and lead actors are still interested in Evil. And I agree.
About the writer, Karzal
Mike (1995) has been a member of MySeries since 2016 and is mainly active on the English version of the site. Since 2018, he has been actively translating news articles, columns, reviews and basically everything that ends up on the Dutch site. The original articles, columns and reviews were actually written by others. During the week Mike can be found at IKEA, where he is a national systems specialist and occasionally also in the classroom to teach an English lesson. In addition, Mike logically enjoys watching series and has actually been spoon-fed this from an early age. The genre doesn't matter, there is a place for everything in the otherwise busy life.
Fantastic series with a brilliant Katja Herbers. I suspect this is the role that put her on the map in Hollywood. She's also had some great roles in the Netherlands. I know her, for example, from De Poel, a Dutch horror film, and De Kuthoer, in which she goes absolutely wild.
But she certainly wasn't the only good one in this series. I really enjoyed Michael Emerson, who plays a wonderful villain. And Andrea Martin, who plays a nun who, as one of the few, can see demons, which makes for some funny moments. The other two leads also do a good job.
She's also had some great roles in the Netherlands. I know her, for example, from De Poel, a Dutch horror film, and De Kuthoer, in which she goes absolutely wild.
But she certainly wasn't the only good one in this series. I really enjoyed Michael Emerson, who plays a wonderful villain. And Andrea Martin, who plays a nun who, as one of the few, can see demons, which makes for some funny moments. The other two leads also do a good job.
I will definitely rewatch this series.