Mike Colter revealed where Evil might've gone should it have continued into a fifth season. The Paramount+ series, created by Robert and Michelle King, starred Colter as a Catholic priest who partners with a forensic psychologist to uncover the truth behind supernatural-seeming events. The series was a hit on CBS before moving to Paramount+, but in 2024, it was announced that the show would end with Season 4.
Evil's cancellation came as a surprise, particularly to its cast and crew. Colter told Decider after Evil's cancellation that "we always thought we had about six seasons in us." Colter recently spoke to The Direct at Fan Expo Vancouver, reiterating that the team was "blindsided" by the cancellation of Evil, which occurred when the show was "building momentum." The star said they'd even been anticipating a potential premature pickup:
Mike Colter: "We were blindsided. We didn’t realize the show was gonna be pulled. We just got back from the writer’s strike, I believe, and we were waiting to have our show premiere and it got pushed. The date got pushed and then we were anticipating a pickup, maybe a premature pickup even though it hadn’t aired yet, because we had been sidelined a few times, because of COVID and because of the writer’s strike, so we thought we could try to get the momentum back and be consistent now that we know where are, and we know where to find us, and we’re on the same platform and streamer. And we were building momentum. People were enjoying the show and finding it anew. And so, yeah, it caught us off-guard."
The decision to axe the show came around the time of the 2023 writers' strike and led to Evil gaining four extra episodes in Season 4 to wrap up its story, rather than a full season. This was something Robert and Michelle King had to "fight" for, according to Colter, who said they tried to leave Evil in "a place where they could pick it up if they wanted to:"
"Suddenly, it was, well, we gotta go in a different direction, and we gotta cancel. And the Kings had to fight to get four more episodes to bring some sort of closure to the show, as it were, leaving it in a place where they could pick it up if they wanted to."
Evil's finale did indeed leave things somewhat open, although several years on, there's been no movement to resurrect the show (despite the hopes of Evil's creators).
Colter shared that he had some idea of where things were going, based on where Evil's final episodes left things. The actor said, "There were so many things undone," adding that storylines involving Leland Townsend's (Michael Emerson) potential daughter and Kristen Bouchard's (Katja Herbers) husband, Andy (Patrick Brammall), would have been a factor.
Colter also noted that he was curious to see where things went with his character, David, following a shift in his prophetic powers. "I was interested in seeing where that was gonna go and how far he could take that," Colter shared, adding that this new power could potentially "corrupt" David:
"There were so many things undone. I could go on and on about what their ideas that they were kicking around. I mean, everything that you could think of in the show that we didn’t completely follow the string on, we were going in that direction.
I mean, obviously, one of the girls was possibly a daughter of Leland. We were dealing with trying to figure out what happened with Kristen’s husband and David, everything that he was doing when he was basically viewing through people’s bodies, I was interested in seeing where that was gonna go and how far he could take that in terms of being able to transfer himself into someone’s body and be able to control them, and also how that would also maybe corrupt him."
Colter's comments add to those from the creators over the years, revealing the shape of what Evil Season 5 would have been. Robert King shared with TV Insider that their Season 5 plan included "more with court and the court system," which was explored somewhat in the final four episodes of Evil:
Robert King: "You saw a little of it in the first two episodes. We were going to do more with court and the court system and how demonic it can be. There were going to be more demons kind of infecting the courthouse and Kristen was going to have to be much more involved."
Evil aired from 2019 until 2024 on CBS and now streams on Paramount+.
Could Evil Season 5 Still Be Saved?
Colter's comments prove that a lot of the groundwork for Evil Season 5 had already been laid, and the creators intentionally left it open to return in case Paramount or another studio or streamer decided to pick it up.
The series's final scenes, which saw David and Kristen move from New York City to the Vatican to continue their work together, left Evil in a promising place from which to continue its story. The finale felt like the beginning of a new chapter, making it very easy for another network to revive Evil should they choose.
While there hasn't been a second chance for Evil as yet, it hasn't stopped Colter and the Kings from pairing on a new project: Cupertino. The new CBS series is described as a David-versus-Goliath show set in Silicon Valley and is due for release in the 2026-2027 TV season.
