Andrea Martin squishing demons with a shovel!
Warning: This story contains spoilers for the season 3 finale ofEvil.
Evilseason 3 ends with what might be the most terrifying baby shower of all time.
Katja Herbers as Kristen Bouchard on ‘Evil’.Elizabeth Fisher/Paramount+
Even worse, Kristen discovers that her own mother Sheryl (Christine Lahti) has aligned herself with Leland.
The RSM Fertility arc has been part of this show since season 1.
How long have you known this is where you wanted this story to go?
MICHELLE KING:Mainly this season, I would say.
ROBERT KING:Yeah, I think you always leave yourself the escape hatch.
Something that changes everything.
MICHELLE:Yeah, I was going to say a “universe changer” for the characters.
ROBERT:So this one felt very appropriate.
Probably about mid-season, we said, “Okay, that’s where we should go.”
MICHELLE:We like very much the idea of writing ourselves into a corner.
We like less the idea of having to figure it out afterwards.
So when we went to the writers' room, it was like, “Okay, congratulations!
Last year, that was a good end.
Now what do we do?”
You’re always trying to find some escape clause.
That’s the good thing about having seven other writers who can put their minds together.
ROBERT:Very much so.
That’s whatAndrea Martingives you.
The character is very much that tough nun that Meryl Streep was inDoubt.
But who else to be hopeful than someone who runs her life like an army sergeant?
She pushes Boggs and David through the ringer.
We’re always looking for those secondary characters.
MICHELLE:It’s a pleasure that David is going to have doubts.
The character was built that way.
And Sister Andrea has no doubts, so it’s a way to access yet another side of faith.
Kristen has tremendous doubts.
Ben is a skeptic.
But David, our believer, has his beliefs.
But they’re tinged with questions about the institution and about his own vows.
Then, Sister Andrea flanks him on the right because she is a total believer.
It’s a nice note to bring to the ensemble.
MICHELLE:While holding a conversation with a teenager.
[Laughs]
ROBERT:That’s one of my favorite parts of the year.
Let’s talk a little bit about Andy’s fate.
How did you guys want to approach Andy’s story line this season?
ROBERT:The problem with Andy is it’s tied to our ability to get Patrick Brammall.
You’re producing a show, and it’s tied to actors and their availability.
What interested you about that theme of home?
MICHELLE:It’s this idea that there’s no safe space for Kristen.
Evil is coming at her.
It’s invading her home.
It’s the same thing in that we don’t do a horror show in gothic castles.
It’s the most suburban and bland of houses.
They’re there, and they’re ready to invade again.
How do you approach creature design for this show?
He designs these creatures he keeps sending us, like, “What about this?”
I think he was doing it for a show that never came about.
Let’s use that."
And then we write towards it.
Sometimes we start with the design, and then we write towards the design.
What can you do?"
[Laughs] Sometimes we start with design, and then we move towards how we use it.
MICHELLE:That’s half the time.
ROBERT:Or even the demon baby this season.
So Joel just went to town!
He’s amazing that way.
He’s sent us eight designs already for this season, and you get overwhelmed.
So you’re staying grounded in something that’s very real.
How did his sacrifice come together story-wise?
MICHELLE:Part of it came from wanting to confirm people understood just how dangerous Leland is.
This is not a character who can be beaten by four girls that are looking to best him.
No, he’s a truly dangerous demon or psychopath, depending on how you’re looking at it.
And you get to see that with the killing of the Monsignor.
ROBERT:We started with the idea that he would kill Grace.
And look, we’re softies at heart.
We just loved the character of Grace.
It wouldn’t mean as much as someone who we’ve seen over the course of the show.
Someone central to the church.
Dr. Boggs, played byKurt Fuller, is another character who’s evolved since the show started.
He began as the voice of reason, and this season has been all about his descent into madness.
What interested you most about his journey?
How far are you into figuring out season 4?
MICHELLE:We’re probably a little over a month away from starting in the writers' room again.
ROBERT:Part of it was the practicality of this year.
We went and didThe Good Fight,so that’s been on our mind.
One of the dangers of a long-running show is pre-plotting too much.
There’s not enough surprise.
So we’re leaving ourselves a little blank slate at this point.
[Laughs]
Related content:
