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Review

Back in 2019, I remember a show debuting on Saturday nights, Evil. I was intrigued, as spooky TV and movies are right up my alley. I enjoyed the first couple of episodes, but somehow I let the show slip away from me. Recently, I saw a post about the show on a TV message board and thought, “Wow, I need to revisit that!” The first three seasons are out on DVD, and it is also streaming on Netflix. Perfect. I went into it fresh, having forgotten the premise—except that Kristen Bouchard, the main character, had eerie things happen to her, and the Catholic Church was involved. So, I set off with season one.

In the show, we meet Kristen, a somewhat frazzled court psychologist, raising four very energetic daughters as her husband is off mountain climbing. She lives by a train that is constantly making noise in the background. Her mother helps with the girls while she works. One day, she is evaluating a serial killer, Orson LeRoux, for his upcoming murder case. Orson (and his wife) claim he is possessed. Kristen, a lapsed Catholic, of course doesn’t believe it. When she presses Orson, he starts speaking with a different voice and attacks her.

Saddled with student debt, she accepts a contract from the Catholic Church to help two others investigate possible supernatural events, both good and evil. Kristen is joined by David Acosta (played by Mike Colter), a man with a somewhat troubled past who is studying to be a priest. He has visions of God when he takes hallucinogens. The third person in the group is Ben Shakir (played by Assif Madvi), who was raised a Muslim but no longer practices. He is as skeptical as Kristen. While she looks for psychological causes of incidents, he looks for scientific explanations.

Christine Lahti as Sheryl

As they begin their investigation, they are tormented by another psychologist, Dr. Leland Townshend (played by Michael Emerson). Dr. Townshend isn’t quite what he seems. Is he just a jerk or is he demonic? Each of the team members feels differently. Dr. Townshend is quite charming, though, and he starts dating Kristen’s mother, Sheryl (played by Christine Lahti). Because of this, Kristen refuses to talk to her mother or let her see her grandchildren. Eventually, Sheryl breaks it off with Leland—or does she? And what really are his plans for her?

Kristen plays the elevator game

This show had some really creepy and scary moments. First off is George, an incubus (a male demon) that only Kristen can see. When he showed up, I was like “wowsa!” In another episode, Sheryl gives the girls VR glasses, and of course, the first thing they do is pick the scariest and darkest game to play. In the game, they meet an odd little girl, Rose390, who beckons them to play on a spirit board. This show has A LOT of odd and creepy boys and girls. In season 2, the team (along with Kristen’s daughters, who are way too excited about it) investigates the disappearance of a teen who played the elevator game, which is based on a real-life urban legend about reaching “the other world”.

Season two also saw the debut of Sister Andrea, played by Second City Television alum Andrea Martin. Sister Andrea can see demons, and she is not afraid to fight them. She knows right off that Leland is evil, she also knows that David has a special gift for what he does. Later, Ben has an episode with a Jinn, which brings him closer to his Islamic faith. He begins to question who God is, and whether the Catholic Church truly knows him.

Andrea Martin as Sister Andrea fighting the good fight

The show goes heavily into the topics of faith and religion, good and evil, but still keeps the scares strong. The writers often use irony to lighten things up in unexpected ways. For example, Leland seeks an exorcism for himself, and each episode comes from a chapter of the in-universe Pop-Up Book of Terrifying Things.

Season three brings us more demons, evil toys, cults and even a Slender Man-like internet meme. David is ordained (but continues to fight his attraction to Kristen), and Sister Andrea battles Leland (spoiler, his exorcism didn’t take). We also meet The Sixty, a group of 60 ancient demonic familial houses, who have been working with the RSM Fertility Clinic—the same clinic where Kristen had IVF to conceive her daughter Lexis. Lexis, by the way, has been going through some very odd changes. Just ask her dentist. What does The Sixty want? Is there an “evil” gene? You have to watch to find out.

I highly recommend Evil if you like shows that can scare you, yet still be thought-provoking and fun to watch. I hid my eyes a few times, but I also laughed a lot. Fun fact: the show was created by Robert and Michelle King, who also created The Good Wife and The Good Fight! I guess politics can be scary too.

How to Watch at Fountaindale

Seasons one and two of Evil are currently streaming on Netflix, which you can access by borrowing one of our Rokus. The library also owns seasons 1–3 on DVD. The fourth and final season is currently only available on Paramont+, but I anticipate it will be out on DVD soon.

Watch on DVD and BluRay  Stream on Netflix (Roku)