Wednesday, November 27, 2019

Evil


It's a holiday week. There is no school. So, it's time for the "summer schedule". (Yes, I did work last week. Those posts will go live next week.) Today I'm going to convince you to check out a show you may not have heard about: Evil.

What is the nature of evil? Is it done by bad people? Or does it come from supernatural sources? This is the debate at the center of the show.

Kristen is a forensic psychologist. She used to work as an expert witness. She was recruited by David, a priest-in-training, to help vet various claims submitted to the Catholic Church. The third member of their team is Ben. He's their tech expert, and like Kristen he's also a skeptic.

Each week is a separate story investigating a different claim. They've looked into alleged demon possessions, an alleged miracle, an alleged prophet, and they've attended at least two exorcisms.

Alongside the case of the week, they've got longer arcs, like our villain Leland, who may or may not be an actual demon. He is a very bad man who's actively encouraged others to kill. (This is a dark show, and there are some scary elements. I dislike horror, but I like this show. Proceed cautiously.)

This is not the kind of show that would necessarily be on my radar, but it was created by the same husband and wife team that created The Good Wife (and The Good Fight). On that basis alone I checked it out, and I kept watching as I thought it was pretty good. It has a couple flourishes that'll look familiar to Good fans, but otherwise it's a very different type of show.

So, is evil something done by people? Or, does it have otherworldly origins? The show doesn't take a side. David is a believer. Kristen is not. We see the show through Kristen's eyes mostly, but sometimes what they find are things she can't explain. (Other times the explanation is completely mundane.)

No matter which side you fall on, you'll find your bias confirmed. Although, you will be given something to question.


I really hope this finds an audience. Although, while doing my research for this post, I noticed that Evil was renewed for a second season already. Yay. That might be on the strength of the creators alone. I haven't seen what the ratings are like.

It's on Thursdays on CBS. Because CBS, it's available on their All Access. I haven't seen whether it's OnDemand, but it might be. (Whatever you do, don't start with episode four: "Rose390".)

Had you heard of Evil before? Are you watching? Are you tempted to check it out?

13 comments:

  1. The teasers for Evil have me almost wanting to watch the show.Still, I'm a chicken, so I'll continue to skip. Bwak, bwak.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Sounds fascinating. I'll have to find time to watch

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I agree. It's amazing how much the quality of television has risen while movies often stink. lol Be well!

      Delete
    2. It's worth your time, if you like this sort of thing.

      Delete
  3. Never watched The Good Wife - not my thing. And anything which may be scary is definitely not my thing so I think I'll steer clear and watch the new season of God Friended Me *grin*

    ReplyDelete
  4. My husband would enjoy it. I don't know about me.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You might give it a try. It's very interesting.

      Delete
  5. I've seen it advertised, but I usually don't enjoy shows like this. I have a vivid imagination and enjoy sleeping most nights, LOL :) Wasn't one of the actors on Person of Interest and Lost?

    Happy Thanksgiving!

    bewtty

    ReplyDelete
  6. FINALLY, finally you hit upon one I do watch and I do like. I started watching it cause I was hoping it would take the place of Supernatural that is ending after 15 seasons. Evil is not close to Supernatural but it still has me, I am a watcher..haha. A fan so far. It is dark but like you I don't like horror films and this really does not focus on the blood, guts and gore of some horror films or shows about murder when they really get into it with all the blood and fear.

    ReplyDelete
  7. I haven't heard of Evil. Watched the promo. Looks like it's a great series. The centre point of the debate is quite interesting. Actually, it is not just about evil, it is also about many other things, like why people do what they do? Is because of their genes, or because of the way they were brought up, or because of some unseen forces. Interesting points to ponder over.
    Unfortunately, CBS the programme is not available in my region. But probably sign up for the All Access, I might be able to watch it.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes, true, it does hit all those points. I had heard some CBS All Access series were on other venues internationally (like Netflix). It might be that way for Evil, too.

      Delete

I appreciate your comments.

I respond to comments* via email, unless your profile email is not enabled. Then, I'll reply in the comment thread. Eventually. Probably.

*Exception: I do not respond to "what if?" comments, but I do read them all. Those questions are open to your interpretation, and I don't wish to limit your imagination by what I thought the question was supposed to be.