Don’t you just love it when Netflix gets its hands on a lesser-known network title and reveals to the world that it, in fact, rules?
Such is the case with CBS’s potentially paranormal procedural Evil. Created by ViacomCBS powerhouse couple Robert and Michelle King (of The Good Wife and The Good Fight), Evil premiered on CBS in September 2019 of last year to some reasonable acclaim.
Then, on Oct. 1, 2020, all 13 episodes of Evil season 1 arrived on Netflix and subscribers quickly took notice. During the first month of its availability, the show hopped around Netflix’s “Top Ten” feature, indicating some real engagement. And with all of that in mind, both early Evil adopters and late Netflix acolytes may have some questions about Evil season 2. Well, here are some answers.
CBS renewed Evil for season 2 midway through the first season. The network had an eye towards another fall release date, but that was quickly scuttled due to the coronavirus pandemic. Thankfully, production has now been completed and the Evil season 2 release date has arrived.
Evil Season 2 Release Date
Evil season 2 has both an official release date and a new home. Since the show did well on Netflix and since ViacomCBS has a shiny new streaming service of its own, it will be bumping Evil over to Paramount+ for season 2. The first episode of Evil season 2 will premiere on June 20. It’s not yet been confirmed what time episodes will be available but Paramount+’s progenitor CBS All Access typically released new episodes at 3 a.m. ET/12 a.m. PT.
Evil Season 2 Cast
The entirety of the Evil cast is expected to return for season 2. Katja Herber stars as Dr. Kristen Bouchard, a forensic psychologist who enters into a world far beyond her understanding. Mike Colter plays David Acosta, a former journalist studying to be a Catholic priest. Aasif Mandvi plays David’s helper Ben Shakir. Michael Emerson is the villainous Dr. Leland Townsend (though of course that’s not his true identity).
No guest stars have been yet announced for Evil season 2 but there are sure to be some new allies and adversaries.
Evil Season 2 Trailer
The first full trailer for Evil season 2 accompanied its release date announcement. To call it “atmospheric” is putting it lightly. It would appear we are fully through the evil looking glass now.
During the show’s appearance at this fall’s New York Comic Con, the folks behind Evil unveiled a pretty creative trailer featuring every actor’s participation in a socially-distanced fashion. Give it a look below.
Uh oh. Mikey Emerson might need an exorcism.
Evil Season 2 Story
In speaking to reporters during Evil’s first appearance at the 2019 Winter Television Critics Association press tour, co-creator Robert King said the show’s goal was to approach the concept of evil and the supernatural from an ambiguous perspective, saying:
“What we wanted to avoid, The X Files certainty, what the supernatural is or flying saucers are, so it’s a little more vague. I would say the shows we had seen, we just wanted to be a little grittier about it and just show it’s a little Flannery O’Connor, a little Graham Greene, a little bit more these are not issues that are easy. They’re actually hard.”
Well Evil season 1 did just that … up to a point. The final couple episodes of the show’s first season set up some fascinating potential storytelling opportunities for season 2. For starters, the show is going to need to immediately address Dr. Kristen Bouchard’s likely killing of a serial killing stalker, Orson LeRoux. Then there’s also the fact that her hand was burned upon touching a crucifix and David had a dream of her embracing a demon.
For all of Evil’s investment in ambiguity, it seems as though season 2 will have plenty to say about evil … actual evil.