It’s official: Evil is coming to an end.
On Wednesday, February 15th, 2024, Paramount+ announced that the supernatural drama series is ending with its upcoming season 4.
Why was Evil canceled?
Paramount+ didn’t reveal the reason why they opted not to renew the Evil for a season 5, but the show itself has been a victim of circumstance over the last few years. The first season of Evil premiered on CBS networks in the fall of 2019 to almost 8 million viewers per episode, but by the time it ended its 13-episode run, it was only attracting 6 million viewers per episode.
Evil captured more viewers when its season 1 arrived on Netflix in October 2020. Unfortunately, all that new momentum was put to a halt when the COVID pandemic happened, which resulted in the delay of the production of the show’s season 2. By the time season 2 was released in the summer of 2021, the show had been removed from CBS broadcast and had been turned into a Paramount+ exclusive, slashing the number of its audience. After a relatively calm Evil season 3 run, the show’s fourth season was affected by the Writer’s and Actor’s Strikes in 2023, causing another huge gap between its third (summer of 2023) and fourth (summer of 2024) seasons.
Despite those challenges and the ultimate decision to end Evil, the bosses a Paramount+ and CBS have nothing but praise for the cast and crew of the show.
“Robert and Michelle King created a unique and deeply entertaining way of exploring the intersection of religion and science,” said Jeff Grossman, Executive Vice President, Programming, Paramount+, in a statement. “We thank Robert, Michelle and the immensely talented cast and crew of Evil and are incredibly proud of their collective work on the series. We can’t wait to see what’s in store for these characters, in what is sure to be a nail-biting, wild ride of a final season.”
David Stapf, President of CBS Studios, added: “It’s hard to underscore the ability of Robert and Michelle King to cleverly craft thought-provoking stories that push creative boundaries time and time again, and Evil is no exception. We’re proud to call them partners, and want to thank them both, Liz Glotzer, the entire cast and the crew for bringing these complex characters to life year after year as we celebrate this final season of Evil.”
How many episodes will Evil season 4 have?
It looks like Evil season 4 will have 14 episodes in total. When the series was renewed for a fourth season back in June 2022, the common understanding was that the new season would have 10 episodes like season 3. But fast-forward to February 2024, Paramount+ announced that it has ordered four additional episodes for the upcoming season, bringing the episode count to 14.
The four “bonus episodes” are set to begin production soon in New York City, according to a statement from the streamer, which is teasing a “thrilling series finale” to play out across the extra four episodes.
“We want to thank Paramount+ for giving us four bonus episodes to end Evil in the world in style,” said Robert and Michelle King, series co-creators, showrunners, and executive producers of Evil. “We will miss this show and cast. In many ways it was a dream project, but sadly evil will outlast Evil. See you in May.”
When will Evil season 4 premiere?
The exact Evil season 4 release date has yet to be announced, but as confirmed by the first teaser trailer for the fourth season, the final season will premiere sometime in May 2024. You can check out the season 4 teaser trailer below:
Will there be a season 5 of Evil?
Although Evil is ending with season 4 at Paramount, there’s still a possibility that it could be picked up for a season 5 by a different network or a different streamer like Netflix. In fact, in a since-deleted tweet following the announcement of the show’s cancellation, Evil star Katja Herbers casually asked if Netflix would be interested in continuing the show.
“We’re all super sad @paramountplus has decided season 4 is our last. @netflix u up? Care to snatch up the goods?? ” read Herbers’ tweet, which has since been removed.
As pointed out by ComicBook.com, it’s not uncommon these days for canceled shows to go knocking on Netflix’s door. The video-on-demand platform has saved several canceled shows in the past, including NBC’s Manifest, Fox’s Arrested Development, AMC’s The Killing, and Star Wars: Clone Wars.
What is Evil about?
From the acclaimed creative team of Robert and Michelle King, Evil is a psychological mystery drama that examines the origins of evil along the dividing line between science and religion. The series focuses on Kristen Bouchard, a skeptical clinical psychologist who joins forces with a priest-in-training named David Acosta and a tech expert named Ben Shakir to investigate unexplained, potentially supernatural events. Reminding us that the border between good and evil is rarely black and white, the series blurs the line between science and religion, case-by-case, as it seeks to answer the timeless question: what’s at the root of our deepest fears?
Who are the cast of Evil?
The series stars Katja Herbers as Dr. Kristen Bouchard, Mike Colter as David Acosta, Aasif Mandvi as Ben Shakir, Michael Emerson as Dr. Leland Townsend, Andrea Martin as Sister Andrea, Kurt Fuller as Dr. Kurt Boggs, Christine Lahti as Sheryl Luria, Brooklyn Shuck as Lynn Bouchard, Skylar Gray as Lila Bouchard, Maddy Crocco as Lexis Bouchard, and Dalya Knapp as Laura Bouchard.