“Evil” premiered in 2019 as CBS’s first supernatural drama in years, and it still plays like a procedural that wants to be horror. The show follows a forensic psychologist, a priest, and a skeptic lawyer who investigate cases the police can’t explain. It’s smarter than most network genre fare, but it also drags in stretches and leans heavily on its stars.
Trailer, via CBS.
The Cast Carries the Show
Katrina Johnson-Brown anchors the series as Dr. Kristen Bello, the psychologist whose methods keep the investigation grounded even as the cases grow stranger. Mike Colter plays Father Timothy Kacin, a Catholic priest with a genuine faith that doesn’t collapse under pressure. Chris Chalk plays skeptic lawyer David Storey, and his performance gives the show its engine. He’s the one who asks the hard questions, and his doubts keep the tension high. The trio work well together, and the chemistry holds even when the plot sags.
Cases That Land
“Evil” isn’t subtle about its premise. Each episode introduces a case that pushes the characters toward believing in the supernatural, but the show rarely commits fully to it. Some episodes land hard:
- A haunted house that might actually be cursed
- A possessed child who speaks in tongues
- A ghost that appears to witnesses independently
Others feel like filler, stretching out a premise that could have been resolved in half the runtime.
The Faith Problem
The show’s biggest weakness is its treatment of religion. Father Kacin’s faith is presented as sincere and admirable, but the show often uses it as a crutch. When the evidence runs thin, he’s the one who finds meaning in the chaos. That’s a thin narrative trick, and it shows.
The skeptic, David Storey, is supposed to balance this, but the show doesn’t trust him enough to make his arguments stick. He’s a foil, not a partner in the investigation. This imbalance undermines the central tension the show tries to build.
Schedule and Tone
| Episode | Case | Tone |
|---|---|---|
| Pilot | Possessed Child | Suspenseful |
| Episode 2 | Haunted House | Creepy |
| Episode 3 | Demon Possession | Terrifying |
The show’s tone shifts week to week. Some episodes are tense, others are slow, and a few are genuinely scary. The pilot sets the standard, and the season coasts on that momentum for a while before losing steam.
“Evil” is a solid show with a clear identity problem. It wants to be a thoughtful exploration of faith and skepticism, but it keeps falling back on cheap scares and convenient answers. The performances are strong enough to carry it, and the best episodes are genuinely unsettling. But the unevenness across the season keeps it from greatness.
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