SDCC 2022 Interview: Evil Season 3

SDCC 2022 Interview: Evil Season 3

Warning: The following contains SPOILERS for Evil season 3.

Evil season 3 has been having all too much fun, between the paranormal Paramount+ series teasing audiences with Kristen and David love scenes and surprising them with grotesque demon babies. But throughout the twists and turns, creators Robert and Michelle King (The Good Wife) have continuously challenged their characters by testing their faith – or lack thereof – in the face of impossible events.

Two characters who have had to question a lot about their reality in Evil season 3 are Ben (Aasif Mandvi, Paws of Fury: The Legend of Hank) and Sheryl (Christine Lahti, The Blacklist). While Ben’s scientific mind has been repeatedly assaulted by the possibility that the religious world he’s always pushed aside may have some hold on him after all, Sheryl has fully embedded herself in demonic visions while working alongside the evil incarnate that is Leland (Michael Emerson, Person of Interest).

While at San Diego Comic-Con, Screen Rant spoke to Lahti and Mandvi about their most memorable moments in Evil season 3, their hopes for season 4, and how their experience with fandom has changed over the years. Watch the video above, and read the interview in full below.

Evil. Photo Credit: Elizabeth Fisher/Paramount+””>

SDCC 2022 Interview: Evil Season 3
Mike Colter as David Acosta, Katja Herbers as Kristen Bouchard, and Aasif Mandvi in Evil. Photo Credit: Elizabeth Fisher/Paramount+

Screen Rant: Evil has gotten so much bigger than I anticipated when it first started. It’s the Kings, so of course it was going to be quality. But did you expect it to expand the way that it did?

Christine Lahti: I think that having it on Netflix that one season really helped, to be honest. And the Kings are just the Kings there. You just can’t say enough about them; how smart and topical and funny and original their writing is.

I just feel so lucky, and I’m so happy. I’ve never actually been on a show that… First of all, of all the shows I did, there was no such a thing as Twitter. There was no internet; there was nothing. We didn’t have cars. [Laughs] Now I’m getting these comments from fans on Twitter about my character, what she’s doing, and “We don’t like her. We hate her!” or “We love her.”

But that’s really fun. I like engaging with fans that way.

Aasif Mandvi: It’s fun to hear what they think. And also, it’s a complex show. It’s not just a scare of the week or something. It deals with issues, and it’s funny and weird and absurd. I think that’s why people have stepped into this hall of mirrors, and followed the story of these characters. And I think it’s why people are staying with the show.

We also tease them with enough. The Kings are great at teasing stuff, and then not giving it away too quickly. So, I think people stay.

And every season is getting wilder, so it builds on itself, and you never know what to expect with it. What has been the most memorable or standout moment for Ben, either that has happened or that you’re looking forward to?

Aasif Mandvi: In [“The Demon of Cults”], there was a scene I had to shoot where I was doused in goat blood. It was shot at two in the morning in the middle of a field, and I was literally [doused]. The stuff they use is clearly not goat blood. It’s some kind of weird concoction of sugar and syrup and red dye or something, and it was in my ears and in my eyelids.

If you could imagine your entire body just covered in some kind of maple syrup. Just in my underpants… It was horrible. It was the worst feeling, and we were there for like three hours. And it was freezing cold, so it stuck to me. I was like a candy apple.

That sounds incredibly memorable.

Aasif Mandvi: And delicious.

Speaking of delicious, that’s what Sheryl’s downward spiral – or upward climb – into evil is. As we get to the end of the season, where is that taking us? How deliciously evil will she get?

Christine Lahti: She gets more and more evil, I think. But for her, it’s more and more empowerment and success and power in a man’s world that she’s been desperate to have. And I think it’s all leading towards some kind of revenge.

You were asking what the most alarming moment was. When Andy’s on the shelf, and I had to do the manicure. Or I got to do the manicure. I just love doing that scene so much. The absurdity, the humor, the horror, the revenge of it. Because I’m just so happy that he’s there. And he’s okay; he’s gonna die. Fine, he’s paralyzed! But he’s got a nice sign he can look at.

Poor Andy. Sheryl just hates him.

Christine Lahti: You think! You know what he did to me? He threatened to take away my family, and he kicked me out of my home. So, hello. I think he just crossed the wrong person.

309 - The Demon of Money
Christine Lahti as Sheryl Luria in Evil episode 9, season 3 streaming on Paramount+, 2022. Photo Credit: Elizabeth Fisher/Paramount+

For the triumvirate, how do you grow together as actors with Katja and Mike through the seasons, as your characters and dynamic evolve?

Aasif Mandvi: We’ve gotten to know each other better over the course of time, and so I think it reflects itself onscreen now. I think there’s a natural chemistry.

We actually ended up having an interesting, natural chemistry in the very beginning as well. But as we’ve gotten to know each other, when we’re shooting, the three of us will just be in our own dynamic. And then we’ll just go right into the scene. Often, the natural energy that we bring as Mike and Kaja and Aasif transfers right into Ben and David and Kristen.

Christine Lahti: But you don’t really like them.

Aasif Mandvi: Sorry, was that not clear? I dislike them immensely. But that’s part of why it works so well. [Laughs]

You mentioned that Evil is not just a scare of the week. But every week there is not only scare, but also deep, philosophical questions about life and existence. Has there been one that stands out to you most, or how does the show make you reflect on your own life and what you believe?

Christine Lahti: I guess the episode that stands out for me in terms of Cheryl is when she confronted her boss, the manager who was a demon. She thought she was having a psychotic breakdown. And she realizes thanks to Leland that it’s actually a gift that she’s able to now see people’s true essence; their aura.

The show for me is always that fine line between, “Is it a religious, possession evil? Or is it a psychological explanation?” I always am on the psychological exploration, but I think Cheryl is also there. She doesn’t believe there’s demons or monsters. It’s just that she’s seeing the true nature of people, which I think is really exciting for her.

Aasif Mandvi: I think for Ben, this season especially, there’s so many things that he hasn’t been able to explain. And I think he needs to find some kind of sanity; some kind of ground.

Last season, there were a lot of things that happened to Ben where he was just like, “I don’t know how to explain this stuff,” and that’s really frustrating. I think he needs to get back to science and pragmatism, and to find the ground where he lives.

Christine Lahti: It’s almost like your character’s cynicism has been shaken.

Aasif Mandvi: Yeah, that whole episode we did last season in the elevator was really like [that]. I think he confronted it, and it’s always been interesting to me that when Ben thought he was dying, he prayed. And the fact that he prayed makes me believe that there is something inside of him that is still susceptible to religion and susceptible to believing in something outside of the just the pragmatist reality.

You’ve already been renewed for season 4. Is there any aspect of your character’s story or life that hasn’t been explored yet that you would like to get into?

Aasif Mandvi: There’s a lot of stuff in Ben’s background that has been set up and hasn’t been explored. But I was thinking about this. Mike’s been dealing with this thing, the Entity, and I would love for Ben to find out about that – and have a real issue with that.

Because there’s a real parallel between the Entity of the Catholic Church, which is doing these nefarious things in the name of good, and where Ben came from. [In] the pharmaceutical world, there’s a lot of the same kind of things going on. I wonder if Ben finds out. I would love for Ben to find out about that.

Christine Lahti: I hope that Sheryl brings Leland down.

Your granddaughters have already done some damage.

Christine Lahti: They have started the damage really well, what they’re doing great. I think that’s Sheryl’s ultimate goal. She’s pretending to be under his influence. She has need of him and used him, but I think it’s all about eventually bringing him down. My dream would be that Kristen and Sheryl together bring him down. There’s some redemptive thing, [because] I know she’s gonna be a little mad at me when she finds out about her husband on a shelf.

Evil Season 3 Synopsis

Evil. Photo Credit: Elizabeth Fisher/Paramount+””>

309 - The Demon of Money
Mike Colter as David Acosta, Brian D’Arcy James as Victor Leconte, and Raul Torres as Father Diego in Evil. Photo Credit: Elizabeth Fisher/Paramount+

David (Mike Colter) and Kristen (Katja Herbers) not only have to navigate their fraught new reality, but contend with David’s involvement with ‘the entity’, an espionage unit within the Catholic Church. Meanwhile, Ben (Aasif Mandvi) finds his brain breaking from their unsolved cases and turns to his sister for help.

Check out our other interviews with Evil stars Kurt Fuller and Andrea Martin, as well as our previous interview with Christine Lahti.

New episodes of Evil season 3 drop Sundays on Paramount+.