Evil on Paramount+: the best supernatural show you forgot

Key Takeaways

• Evil earned a 100% Rotten Tomatoes score for its final season, making it one of the best-reviewed shows on Paramount+
• The series updates The X-Files formula with religious phenomena, blending skepticism, faith, and technology through three distinct characters
• Despite cancellation in 2024, the show's creators delivered a compressed but satisfying ending in four bonus episodes

Evil, the supernatural procedural that migrated from CBS to Paramount+, scored a perfect 100% on Rotten Tomatoes for its final season. The show logged 406 million minutes viewed at its peak on Nielsen streaming charts. Yet most people have never heard of it.

That's partly because Paramount+ sits in a strange spot in the streaming hierarchy. It's not Netflix, not HBO. People subscribe for a specific show, then forget the app exists. Evil thrived in that blind spot, building a devoted cult following while mainstream audiences scrolled past.

Why is Evil called the X-Files of the 2020s?

The comparison isn't lazy marketing. Evil replicates The X-Files' central tension between belief and skepticism, but swaps extraterrestrial phenomena for religious ones.

Three investigators form the core: Dr. Kristen Bouchard (Katja Herbers), a forensic psychologist and agnostic; David Acosta (Mike Colter), a Catholic priest in training who's open to miracles and demons; and Ben Shakir (Assif Mandvi), an atheist technology contractor who trusts only data.

The Catholic Church hires this team to assess reported miracles. Is that monk worthy of sainthood? Is that AI chatbot possessed? Each case forces the three worldviews to collide.

Like Mulder and Scully, Kristen and David share an unspoken attraction. The show mines that tension for four seasons without cheapening it. The X-Files comparison extends to the storytelling structure: standalone episodic cases layered over a slow-burning conspiracy arc.

“The X-Files of the 2020s.”

— Dan Selcke, Pop Culture Critic

What makes Evil's tone so distinct?

The show swings wildly between existential dread and absurdist comedy. One episode features monks observing a vow of silence during a murder investigation. Another tracks a stock tip that passes from person to person, stalked by a demon that punishes anyone who acts on it.

Some scenes are genuinely gruesome. Others border on farce. The show asks, with apparent sincerity: can demonic entities floss? This tonal whiplash alienates some viewers but creates something genuinely unlike anything else on television.

Michael Emerson plays Dr. Leland Townsend, a psychologist with an unhealthy fixation on Kristen. He starts as a creepy antagonist and escalates into a cartoonishly sinister villain. Emerson commits fully to the absurdity, making Townsend both threatening and ridiculous.

Why did Paramount cancel Evil?

Paramount axed the series in 2024, shortly before the fourth season aired. The decision came in the aftermath of the 2023 writers and actors strikes, when the company needed to slash costs. Critical acclaim and a passionate fanbase weren't enough.

The producers received four extra episodes to wrap things up. Character arcs reached satisfying conclusions. Some plot threads, though, dangled. The compressed ending frustrated fans who'd spent years following the show's intricate mythology.

Horror icon Stephen King publicly campaigned for more episodes. Lead actress Katja Herbers engaged with fans on social media after the cancellation news broke. The #SaveEvil campaign gained traction on Reddit, where communities like r/EvilTV had spent years analyzing the show's hidden puzzles and cryptic sigils.

Is Evil worth watching if it's already over?

Yes. The four seasons form a complete story. The ending works, even if it's imperfect.

More importantly, Evil is philosophically ambitious in a way most genre shows avoid. It treats faith, skepticism, and technology as legitimate worldviews worth exploring, not strawmen to knock down. The show doesn't resolve the tension between them. It lives inside it.

The series also benefits from exceptional performances. Herbers plays Kristen's internal conflict with precision. Colter brings warmth and doubt to David's faith. Mandvi grounds the absurdity with skeptical humor.

How to watch Evil on Paramount+

All four seasons stream on Paramount+. The show started on CBS, so the first season has a slightly more network-friendly polish. By season two, after the Paramount+ move, it embraces darker, stranger territory. Start from the beginning. The serialized elements matter.

If you subscribed to Paramount+ for a single show and forgot about it, check whether your subscription is still active. Evil might justify keeping it around a little longer.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many seasons of Evil are there?

Evil ran for four seasons, starting on CBS in 2019 and concluding on Paramount+ in 2024. The creators received four additional episodes to wrap up the story after cancellation.

Is Evil appropriate for all viewers?

No. The show features graphic violence, disturbing imagery, and mature themes. Some episodes are particularly gruesome. It's not suitable for younger viewers or those sensitive to horror content.

Do you need to watch Evil in order?

Yes. While individual episodes have standalone cases, the show builds a serialized mythology across all four seasons. Starting mid-series would miss crucial character development and plot context.

Will there be more Evil episodes?

Paramount canceled the series in 2024. Despite campaigns from fans and public support from figures like Stephen King, no revival has been announced. The four-season run is considered complete.

Is Evil similar to The X-Files?

The structure is comparable: a believer and a skeptic investigate unexplained phenomena, with standalone cases layered over a conspiracy arc. Evil substitutes religious miracles for extraterrestrial events and adds a third investigator focused on technology.

Source: MakeUseOf