Katja Herbers, Mike Colter & Aasif Mandvi Reveal What ‘Evil’ Has Taught Them as the Show Enters Its Final Season
The entertaining triumvirate of Herbers, Colter and Mandvi sit down with FilmSpeak to talk about what they’ve learned from their characters over the show’s four year run, what ‘demons’ they’ll take away with them, and the truest evil that’s ever haunted the set.
This article contains spoilers for Evil seasons 1-3.
Some might be late to the ‘Evil’ party - the CBS Studios production about skeptical psychiatrist Dr. Kristen Bouchard (Katja Herbers) joining Catholic priest David Acosta (Mike Colter) and the blue collar tech savvy Ben (Aasif Mandvi) to investigate the Catholic church’s unexplained mysteries. At first, the story of a psychiatrist, a priest and a synic sounds like the set up to a joke - almost as if the trio are about to walk into the proverbial bar, but it is so much more.
For almost its entire four season run, it was the little show that could - a fierce following by a hipster fan group, torn between telling all their friends about the show, or trying to keep it their dirty little secret. More recently, the show was picked up by Netflix and has gained quite a bit of momentum, so while those fans that did in fact keep it secret (shame on them) will have to merely settle for bragging that they’ve been a fan since 2020, it is great news that a very entertaining show that successfully mixes horror and comedy, theology and science is getting more recognition.
The timing, however, is a little sad, as CBS will no longer be producing new episodes after this season. Production on the fourth and final season began over a year ago, but when the decision was made to end the show after this season, the showrunners decided to add another four episodes to ensure it was a clean break. While thankful for those extra episodes, those who have worked on the show, most notably Herber, have really been hoping that another streaming service or production company will pick it up for future seasons. Herber, Colter and Mandvi recently sat down with FilmSpeak for a little therapy, to try and accept that the end might be nigh, much like the apocalypse the show sets up, and to look back fondly.
Check out the full interview with Herbers, Colter and Mandvi, below - or continue to scroll for the remainder of the article.
The show, like other successful properties has leaned into both comedic and horror related roots. On any given episode, audiences could easily be creeped out or giggling out loud. It never takes itself too seriously, and because of that i easily one of the more original shows to be created recently. Mandvi, a seasoned comedian who got his start as a “Senior Correspondent” for Jon Stewart’s original run of the ‘Daily Show’ was asked to share his theory as to why the show’s juxtaposition between the two has worked so well.
“There's a surprise element to both comedy and horror” Mandvi says. “They elicit different reactions, but there is a kind of explosive scare or explosive laughter that comes from both”. In fact, recalling the time he was cast, Mandvi says it was in fact his comedic background that might have landed him the role as Ben. “It's interesting, [creator] Michelle King said something to me the other day. I think part of the reason that I was cast as Ben is because of my comedy background. She said, ‘it's always great hiring a comedian, or somebody who can do comedy, because they can generally also find the dramatic moments too’. I think the Kings [co creator Richard and Michelle King] appreciated the fact that I had comedy in my background because they always wanted to find a little bit of that with Ben, which we did explore a lot in the show”.
While Mandvi and Ben might be known for comedy, as mentioned, there is a much darker side to the show (if that weren’t obvious by the literal title). All three of the leads have to deal with their share of darkness, and both perceived and embodied evil (the menagerie of demons and nightmare creatures will forever be one of the standout strengths of the show), but Kristen has perhaps delved more into the darkness than any of our other heroes.
“Well, I do think we explore Kristen's darker side” admits Herbers, perhaps reluctantly. She was prompted to discuss how Kristen, and her actions over the last three seasons (which includes lusting after a priest, adulatory, physical violence against Michael Emerson‘s truly evil Leland Townsend, and even murder) was perhaps hinting that the title of the show is really about Kristen.
Herbers defends her character by saying “We really explore what any human being has in them, if you threaten them to their core, or their children in this particular case. They will probably be able to do really horrible things to protect their own. I don't look at [Kristen] as evil at all, but I'll leave it up to the viewers to decide”.
Herbers, while obviously different from her onscreen character for so many reasons, seemingly does maintain that soft-spoken, but fun-loving nature of Kristen. Whether that’s a case of art imitating life, or life imitating art remains to be seen. Perhaps it is merely the two personas meshing together after an amazing journey these past four years. Colter, arguably the biggest icon of the trio, doesn’t need any input from the viewers to decide about his character. He’s 100% certain that Father David Acosta wouldn’t have anything to do with Mike Colter.
“Aasif and I were joking the other day”. Colter reveals. If Aasif met Ben, Ben wouldn't hang out with Aasif. And I don't think David would hang out with me. We wouldn't be friends, I would want to be friends with David perhaps. But David would probably not watch anything that I've ever done. He probably would think that I'm weird, and what I do with my life is kind of weird, and not really interesting enough to really devote your whole life to doing it”.
What is fascinating as the interview continues is realizing that, much like the visible connection between Kristen and Herbers, one can notice between Ben and Mandvi, or even despite his ‘protests’, a connection between David and Colter. These trio of actors, much like any solid performer would strive for, a part of their character, and visa versa. “I admire David” admits Colter. “I’ve learned from his patience his, his will, his consistency as a person and just [being] unflappable. I mean, he's just amazing because I don't have I don't have enough of that in me”.
The sinister 'Marshmallow Game"
Video courtesy of Robert King - @RKing618 (via X)
So if the theory is true, and these three are linked to their characters, the actors must be at least slightly unflappable. While they haven’t necessarily had to deal with the melodramatic drama or plot twists only Dante could scribe in their off-screen lives, surely they can deal with anything at this point.
Then, looking back at these last four years, what was the most sinister force they ever encountered on set? Was there bad mojo hovering over the production like a dark cloud? An unexplained accident? At the very least, did someone get a nasty paper cut? No. If you ask the production, it may in fact have been… One Marshmallow, Two Marshmallow. A game so sinister, it infected the entire production and swept through them like a virus.
“How did you know about our secret game?” Herbers asks, essentially admitting this twisted ritual has become the entire productions hidden secret. Mandvi admits the game was “part of the reason that we got cancelled” and while Colter laughs, he too confesses “Robert [King] couldn't take it anymore. That’s why he pulled the plug”. Sure, Herbers tries to brush it under the rug, trying to make it seems like an innocent exercise taught to them by children, a simple game that helps them focus on late night shoots. Yet, the truth will be exposed.
FilmSpeak would like to issue a warning to anyone out there who may be reading this and who dares to check out the Marshmallow game. FilmSpeak is not legally responsible for your time… or your sanity.