Paramount+ Hit Supernatural Show Just Got An Enthusiastic Renewal
It's on its way back!
Evil reigns supreme. After three super successful seasons, emerging streaming service Paramount+ has pulled the trigger on the fourth season of former CBS airing supernatural drama Evil. The Hollywood Reporter writes the show’s season four renewal comes just weeks after season three of Evil launched on Paramount+.
Paramount+ based Evil debuted its first season on Paramount’s television network CBS before swapping standardized television for streaming when the second season of the show came around. As Collider states; “despite struggling to deliver linear ratings, the twisty supernatural drama managed to excel on digital platforms.” Collider is definitely on the money as President of original scripted series at Paramount+, Nicole Clemens has spoken enthusiastically about Evil‘s season four renewal; “Evil continues to expand its fanbase of both critics and viewers alike; season three currently has a 100 per cent rating on Rotten Tomatoes and it is a consistent top-five most-watched original series and acquisition driver for the service.”
Evil on Paramount+ was created by Robert and Michelle King and stars Katja Herbers as a forensic psychologist, Dr Kristen Bouchard, Mike Colter (formerly of Netflix’s Marvel series Luke Cage, Jessica Jones & The Defenders) as journalist turned trainee catholic priest Father David Acosta and Aasif Mandvi as technical maestro Ben Shakir. The trio of characters team up to investigate mysteries of a paranormal nature. Paramount’s Nicole Clemen’s quoting of Rotten Tomatoes‘ 100% rating of the third season is backed up by the fact that the first two seasons of the show achieved plus 90% ratings on the critical aggregator site as well. Mashable calls the show; “The X-Files but with demons” and heaps praise on the series’ ability to create reliable scares whilst also touching base with real-world issues and debate, blending scares with humour and producing series-long narrative arcs that are seemingly impossible to predict. In other words, all the makings of an excellent supernatural drama.
For show creators Robert and Michelle King, Evil on Paramount+ is just one of a number of successes for the creative duo created under their production banner, King Size Productions. The Kings are behind the likes of five-time Primetime Emmy Award-winning drama The Good Wife, which in turn produced a spinoff, The Good Fight, itself a two-time Primetime Emmy nominee, as well as the Bryan Cranston starring Showtime drama Your Honour.
Given the pedigree of shows produced by the Kings and the success of Evil on Paramount+, it is no surprise that the show has earned a season four renewal so shortly after the third season has premiered. For Paramount, Evil is a key part of the studio’s war on streaming, with Paramount+ fighting in an increasingly crowded marketplace against familiar foes such as Netflix, Amazon, Hulu and relative newcomers HBO Max and Disney Plus. So far, Paramount+ has had successes with the Yellowstone spin-off 1883 and debuted the long-awaited Halo videogame adaptation earlier this year.
The success of Evil on Paramount+ along with the streaming platform’s other content is key for the studio’s long-term success, given that Paramount made a pledge last year to switch their focus away from blockbusters and onto streaming, a commitment the studio reaffirmed at their investor presentation earlier this year. In doubling down on its streaming pledge, which was to the tune of $6 billion in investment and a goal of hitting 100 million subscribers, Paramount Global took a hit in the stock market. Paramount will be hopeful that Evil‘s success and longevity will enable the studio to take its streaming platform in a positive direction and help Paramount+ trend towards that magic 100 million mark of subscribers.
