The best show on TV right now is sadly coming to an end with just four more episodes. But at least we got those, so Evil gets a proper wrap-up—especially considering what happened in the 10th episode of Season 4!
Now, heading into these four bonus episodes, Christine Lahti’s Sheryl is dead, but thanks to her video of how Leland (Michael Emerson) has been draining people, he’s been arrested. His trial is coming, with Richard Kind and John Carroll Lynch guest starring as the judge and his lawyer, respectively, and Danny Burstein returning, as TV Insider previously exclusively revealed. But that’s not all that’s coming up. Below, get scoop from the stars on what to expect in the final four episodes of Evil.
1. Leland’s Trial Gets Comedic
Leland’s about to be on trial, yes, but he has to have a plan in place, right?
“Well, Leland has expectations,” Emerson says. “He thinks of himself as part of a wealthy aristocracy, but he has a little trouble securing legal counsel and he has an unsympathetic judge. It mostly looks like things are going bad for Leland because there’s very convincing evidence of his perfidy. But then it turns out his lawyer has secret qualities, and that’s probably all I should say about that.”
John Paul Filo / CBS
The series is going to come full circle, bringing Kristen (Katja Herbers) and Leland back into a courtroom together; it was in the series premiere that, in the hallway, Kristen first took down Leland “with her intellect and her way of being able to grind him and ridicule him with the whole Jake the Flake speech that she gave,” Herbers recalls. “She found his weakness.”
Now, Kristen’s “going to want to [take him down] again,” Herbers continues. “She knows so much about him. She’s got so much evidence against him. I think she would bring that to the table [during the trial].”
Something Evil does so well is seamlessly mix comedy, drama, and horror into the same scene. We expect there to be some during these courtroom scenes, and based on what Emerson and Fuller have to say, we’re right to!
“The courtroom scenes were fun to shoo because there was a large gang of very skilled senior comic performers all in the same scenes—Richard Kind and John Carroll Lynch and Danny Burstein and me. We all kind of know what we’re doing,” shares Emerson. “I had more fun shooting those scenes off camera than I think anything I’ve done on that show, we were a funny group.”
Kurt Fuller (who plays Dr. Boggs) teases that Boggs does have a role to play in Leland’s trial (more on that below) and echoes what Emerson has to say about the humor in those scenes. He’s known Kind and Lynch for a long time.
“They’re two of the best actors I know and completely different kinds of actors, but it was a character actor masterclass that day, I got to tell you,” says Fuller. “We were all trying to impress each other, so everybody came with their A-game and I hope it came out well. And yes, it’s funny, it’s scary and I hope it’s good.”
2. The Assessor Team Is Coming to an End
Herbers reveals that the show is about to get a little meta. She says the bonus episodes are “super duper jam-packed, really fun, and very unexpected,” as well as “a bit painful.”
“They’re meta in the sense that the show was canceled and our assessor team will also be canceled,” she reveals. “So we’re living both those realities, the fiction and the reality at the same time, which is just a very smart way to do it.”
3. What If?
Aasif Mandvi reveals that “there’s a lot going on for Ben” in the final episodes—Fuller, whose Boggs is now Ben’s therapist, says “he’s really challenged”—including something they all get to experience: “a what-if version of ourselves.”
“It was a lot of fun for all of us,” he continues. “I think it’s always fun when you get to play your character and then get to play the opposite of your character. It was like in Episode 7 where I got to play and to do that song, which is so completely out of character. So it’s like stretching a different muscle and sort of like, how would Ben do this? Who would Ben be in this? It’s always fun as an actor when they give you an opportunity to step out of your character and play something completely different. So all of us took the liberty to do that and it’s kind of fun actually in the show.”
4. Boggs Is in for a Career Change … and Will Show His ‘True Character’
Boggs’ writing has been successful as of late, and Fuller teases, “There is going to be a career change for Boggs. There’s a big change in Episode 13 where we see what Boggs’ future holds, and it also involves Kristen.”
He adds there’s a lot going on for his character in these remaining episodes. It’s “stuff that’s primal to the show. Boggs shows his true character. I won’t tell you whether it’s good or bad, but he shows his true character and it involves Leland and it involves a trial.”
There have been some great scenes between Boggs and Leland in the past, but there’s not much time for too much more. “This is more about Leland trying to save himself and Boggs trying to save himself. And if Boggs is going to save himself, he can’t get in Leland’s way,” teases Fuller. “So he has some real decisions to make, real inflection points where he’s either got to have the courage to go up against Leland and risk his life really, and certainly his livelihood, or he’s got to be a really strong, ethical, honest human being. And we’ll just see what happens.”
5. Sister Andrea Will Question Her Faith
Of all the characters, Sister Andrea (Andrea Martin) is the one who is most set in what she believes, but that may be about to change in a major way. So far we’ve seen her go up against Leland with a knife and demons wielding garden shears. That’s because “fear isn’t anything that’s part of who she is,” explains Martin. “I don’t think she has any of that. The character’s written that she just has such strong belief that she never questions what her motivations are.”
Elizabeth Fisher / Paramount+
But coming up is a “beautiful” episode for her character, the 13th of the season. “I just loved playing the character in that. It was really poignant and you see her questioning,” Martin reveals. “I think the only time in the whole series, all these years, you see her questioning her faith or her ability or her intentions or motivations. It was really satisfying to play.”
And while it doesn’t sound like we’ll see any more Sister Andrea-Leland scenes before the end, there is more to come with her and Mike Colter (who plays David) and Herbers. Martin has enjoyed seeing Kristen and Sister Andrea clash about the former’s daughter, Lynn, and religion.
“She’s so scientific in her approach to life, and I’m no scientific approach. So we’re polar opposites, but I think what connects us is real love,” Martin says. “You can tell how much she adores her children, and my love, of course, is the love of God and faith. So I think that that bonded us, and I think we’re combative because we come from two different places, but when push comes to shove, we were respectful and loving of one another. I think that’s how the show kind of ends, so there’s not friction at the end.”
6. More of Original Conflict
These bonus episodes “return to the three of us against Leland sort of dynamic,” teases Mandvi.
What are you hoping to see in the bonus episodes? Let us know in the comments section, below.
Evil, Thursdays, Paramount+