Evil

***Evil*** is an American supernatural drama series created by Robert and Michelle King that premiered on CBS on September 26, 2019 and concluded on January 30, 2020 before moving to Paramount+ on June 20, 2021.

The series was renewed for a second season on October 22, 2019. In May 2021, it was confirmed that the series would move from CBS to Paramount+. The second season premiered on June 20, 2021 and concluded on October 10, 2021. The series was renewed for a third season on July 8, 2021. The third season premiered on June 12, 2022 and is set to conclude on August 14, 2022.

## Evil

### Executive producer

Liz GlotzerRobert KingMichelle King
Rockne S. O'Bannon
Benedict Fitzgerald

### Producer

Robyn-Alain FeldmanAurin Squire
Patricia Ione Lloyd
Thomas J. Whelan

## Premise

Skeptical female psychologist Kristen Bouchard joins David Acosta, who is training to be a Catholic priest, and a blue collar contractor as they investigate the church's backlog of unexplained mysteries, including supposed miracles, demonic possessions and other extraordinary occurrences. Their job is to assess if there's a logical explanation or if something truly supernatural is at work, examining the origins of evil along the dividing line between science and religion.

## Characters

* Katja Herbers as Dr. Kristen Bouchard, a forensic psychologist hired by David Acosta to help him distinguish between legitimate instances of demonic possession and insanity. Kristen is not religious and does not believe in demons or the supernatural, but finds her skepticism tested many times as she walks a thin line between what science can account for and what it has yet to explain.
* Mike Colter as David Acosta, a former journalist studying to be a Catholic priest. He currently works as an assessor, tasked with investigating and confirming events such as miracles and reports of demons. He takes hallucinogens in order to see visions, but he is not sure if they are from God or his own mind.
* Aasif Mandvi as Ben Shakir, a contractor who works with David as his technical expert and equipment handler. He plays devil's advocate, providing scientific explanations for supernatural phenomena.
* Kurt Fuller as Dr. Kurt Boggs, a psychiatrist and Kristen's therapist
* Marti Matulis as George, a demon who appears to Kristen in her dreams. Matulis portrays other characters in several episodes: AR Demon in "Rose390", one of the Ghoul Orderlies in "Room 320", Townsend's Devil Therapist in "Justice × 2", "Book 27" and "U Is for U.F.O", the Archangel Michael in "A is for Angel", the Jinn in "F Is for Fire", "Z Is for Zombies" and "I Is for IRS", Brother Paul in "S Is for Silence", Eddie in "D Is for Doll", and the Winged Demon in "C Is for Cannibal".
	+ Euan Morton voices George and Michael Cerveris voices Townsend's Devil Therapist, both uncredited
* Brooklyn Shuck as Lynn Bouchard, Kristen's eldest daughter
* Skylar Gray as Lila Bouchard, Kristen's second daughter
* Maddy Crocco as Lexis Bouchard, Kristen's third daughter
* Dalya Knapp as Laura Bouchard, Kristen's youngest daughter
* Christine Lahti as Sheryl Luria, Kristen's supportive, hard-living mother
* Michael Emerson as Dr. Leland Townsend, Kristen's professional rival and an expert in the occult. He is obsessed with encouraging others to commit evil acts. He has a particular interest in David, stemming from his contempt for those who believe themselves incapable of sin. The episode "Justice × 2" reveals that he is really Jake Perry, a former insurance adjuster from Des Moines working to influence others into acts of evil.
* Ashley Edner as Abbey (season 2), a succubus that taunts Ben during his dreams
	+ Ciara Renée voices Abbey in a recurring role
* Andrea Martin as Sister Andrea (season 3; recurring season 2), a powerful nun who advises David and serves as Leland's polar opposite

## Release

On May 15, 2019, CBS released the first official trailer for the series. In September 2020, CBS announced that the first season would be made available on Netflix in October 2020 in order to generate attention for the upcoming second season. The series left Netflix in the US on October 1, 2021, due to becoming a Paramount+ exclusive.

*Evil* premiered in Canada on Global on September 26, 2019. CBS Studios International announced on October 22, 2019, that *Evil* would air in Spain on Syfy in January 2020. On October 29, CBS announced *Evil* would be available on Globoplay in Brazil on November 1. *Evil* premiered in Latin America on October 31 on Universal TV through an exclusive licensing agreement between CBS Studios International and NBCUniversal International Networks.

CBS Studios International has also signed a licensing agreement with French broadcaster TF1 Group for *Evil* to air in France, where it premiered on May 19, 2021. In India, *Evil* initially premiered on the streaming service Voot Select in April 2020, followed by a network television premiere on June 23, 2020, on Zee Café. In July 2020, the British pay television channel Alibi announced that they had bought the British rights to *Evil* and the show premiered in the United Kingdom on September 21, 2020. In Germany, the show first premiered on the pay-TV channel ProSieben Fun on August 7, 2020, followed by a free-TV premiere on February 17, 2021, on ProSieben.

## Production

CBS ordered a pilot for the potential series in January 2019, created by the writing team Robert and Michelle King. Katja Herbers and Mike Colter were cast in February, with Michael Emerson and Aasif Mandvi cast in March. A series order was officially made in May 2019. A day after that, it was announced that the series would premiere in the fall of 2019 and air on Thursday nights at 10:00 p.m. during the 2019–2020 television season.

The series debuted on September 26, 2019. On July 18, 2019, Christine Lahti was cast as Sheryl Luria, replacing Deirdre O'Connell who was in the original pilot. On July 25, 2019, it was announced that Kurt Fuller, who guest starred in the pilot, had been promoted to a series regular. On October 22, 2019, CBS renewed the series for a second season. The filming of the second season was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States, but later began in October 2020 and was rerouted into a more "character-focused season." Filming concluded in June 2021.

On May 18, 2021, it reported that the series would move to Paramount+ for the second season. On May 23, 2021, it was announced that the second season would set to premiere on June 20, 2021. On July 8, 2021, Paramount+ renewed the series for a third season.