The X-Files Meets Fringe In Paramount+’s 96% RT Horror Show

Paramount+ is home to a horror TV show with a near-perfect Rotten Tomatoes score, which brings together elements from The X-Files and Fringe. Like most streaming platforms, Paramount+ produces its own content in addition to having licensed content from various genres. In addition to this, Paramount+ has also become the new home of TV shows that were originally network shows, giving them new life and the chance to continue for a bit longer.

Shows like Criminal Minds: Evolution were moved to Paramount+, becoming an exclusive show on the platform, while others were revived exclusively for the streamer, such as Frasier. Falling into the former category is Evil, a supernatural drama TV show created by Robert and Michelle King. Evil premiered on CBS in 2019, and after that first season, it moved to Paramount+. Evil stayed for three more seasons, and it was unfairly canceled after its fourth season.

Evil is a combination of horror, sci-fi, and fantasy elements, exploring the complexities of faith, religion, personal beliefs, and the existence or lack of supernatural entities. Through these, Evil is a mix of the best elements of The X-Files and Fringe, being a perfect watch for fans of these shows. Evil currently holds a 96% critics’ score on Rotten Tomatoes, but despite its quality, it didn’t reach the popularity it deserved.

Evil Is One Of The Most Underrated Horror Shows Of The Decade

Evil introduces the audience to skeptical forensic psychologist Kristen Bouchard (Katja Herbers), who is recruited by the Catholic Church to investigate events that have been categorized as “supernatural.” Accompanying Kristen are Catholic seminarian David Acosta (Mike Colter) and skeptical technology contractor Ben Shakir (Aasif Mandvi), each of them providing different skills, knowledge, expertise, perspectives, and beliefs.

Although most of their cases have logical and/or scientific explanations, Kristen, David, and Ben soon find themselves increasingly intertwined with the events they investigate and some specific individuals, most notably forensic psychologist Leland Towsend (Michael Emerson), Kristen’s rival, who develops an obsession with her and her family. Despite its fantasy and sci-fi elements, Evil has some terrifying episodes, making it a notable horror show.

Evil was a consistent success with critics and general audiences, hence its near-perfect Rotten Tomatoes score. However, the show didn’t reach wider popularity and, even though it hasn’t been long since it ended, it isn’t talked about much. Its shift from CBS to Paramount+ ended up preventing it from finding its audience, and many viewers found its slow-burn pace to be frustrating, as the show takes its time to develop its mysteries (which isn’t bad but isn’t for everyone).

Evil’s dark tone and blend of genres are some of its strengths, but, surprisingly, also contributed to the show not being widely talked about. Despite all this, Evil is one of the best horror TV shows of the decade, but, at the same time, it’s one of the most underrated.

Evil’s Cancellation Highlights A Huge Streaming Problem

Even though Paramount+ allowed Evil to stay for longer, its cancellation by the platform highlights a huge streaming problem. Unlike most TV shows that are canceled by the streaming platform that produced them, Evil didn’t end due to low viewership or bad quality – instead, it suffered the consequences of the 2023 Hollywood strikes and a shift in Paramount+’s priorities.

Evil season 4 entered production in December 2022 and had to stop due to the strikes, but even after it resumed filming, the show couldn’t be saved. In addition to that, Paramount+ decided to prioritize bringing in new subscribers rather than just making content for the ones it already had, and the cancellation of Evil and many other shows coincided with the merger of the platform’s parent company with Skydance Media.

Paramount+ granted the team of Evil four extra episodes to conclude the show, but it still had a lot more to tell and explore. This highlights a problem in the current streaming era where platforms cancel some of their biggest and most popular TV shows for reasons unrelated to their quality and performances, instead being part of their bigger plans of expansion. More often than not, this backfires, and Paramount+ would most likely be more popular had it not canceled Evil.

Streaming platforms should find a balance between new content to attract new subscribers and the shows they already have and that have amassed loyal followings – after all, both are part of a platform’s audience, and they’re the ones who keep these services functioning.

Release Date

2019 – 2023

Showrunner

Michelle King