It’s a thin and winding line to walk, presenting the supernatural, religion, and science in a mundane setting. Believers and non-believers alike are willing to accept dragons, zombies, and extraterrestrials in prime time but both seem to prefer their demons to be snarky with charming British accents. Even the CBS heads that titled a show God Friended Me seemed to be more comfortable using algorithms over angels. But any devils belong in the details and the key to any mystery is the doubt of outcome. This is where the Evil Series Premiere succeeds.
We open the Evil Series Premiere with a grisly murder and trial where psychologist, Dr. Kristen Bouchard (Katja Herbers) is an expert witness for the prosecution describing her interaction with the killer, Orson LeRoux. LeRoux has murdered three families and seems rather blasé about it. He claims no memory of the incident and seems to black out while the tests were administered. Despite LeRoux’s stated skepticism, his wife is desperate to prove that his crimes are the result of demonic possession.
This brings in the Catholic church’s “assessor,” David Acosta (Luke Cage’s Mike Colter) and his assistant, Ben Shakir (Aasif Mandavi) to investigate the paranormal claims. Kristen is confident with Occam’s razor (which she commonly but inaccurately posits as “the simplest answer being the best”): Orson Leroux killed people because he’s a bad person. David believes in the alternative possibility that an unseen and otherworldly evil named “Roy…” is taking control of him to commit unspeakable acts. When Leroux attacks Kristen, spouting Latin, she feels that she can no longer testify without further investigation. This sours the district attorney but elicits a new opportunity as part of David’s team.
Each member of our new Scooby Gang is more than they appear. Kristen is raising her four daughters hand-to-mouth in a modest house with the help of her mother (Christine Lahti) while her husband is of meager help working as a mountain climbing guide around the world, Kristen’s pre-parenthood passion. David was a world-traveler after dropping out of college, working as a photojournalist until his witness of unexplained and improbable events led towards faith. Ben, like Kristen, is a non-believer. He was working as a general contractor at a church rectory when his technical prowess and problem-solving caught David’s eye. David surrounds himself with skeptics to maintain his investigations’ integrity. Kristen re-evaluates her stance on the supernatural after a series of terrifying experiences. Ben is all business.
The X-Files formula seems to be in place for Evil, with a sexual tension between skeptic Kristen and believer David. Obvious complications exist in Kristen’s strained but intact marriage and David’s aspiration towards the priesthood. The attraction and the barriers to it are brought to light right away and used to taunt them by both Leroux and the mysterious Leland Townsend, played by Michael Emerson who brings some of the unnerving intellect we saw from him in Lost and Person of Interest.
The tension between the leads seems to be one of the weaker qualities of the pilot with the chemistry between them not fully formed before it is expressed (albeit not from them directly). The strength is easily the writing. The pacing and twists along the way keep us engaged all at once with the characters, the case they’re on, and potential story arcs.
Once the case is closed, the audience is already alerted to the team’s next investigation: a purported miracle. Ben asks if this will include Kristen and, when it seems it will, we’re left to wonder what that means for them and the show’s themes.
Will Kristen and David grow closer? Will her status as a skeptic and lapsed Catholic change or will his as a seminarian? Can she continue working as a forensic psychologist? Is evil objectively real and, if the answer is yes, then could corruption towards it be real also?
The potential of the series can be realized if they smartly navigate these waters. Faith beyond fiction, sensitivity in science, and a sense of adventure into the unknown are classic, tried-and-true elements for storytelling. If the cast and crew can make us care (and question) week in and week out, they’ll have a hit.
