Evil

The three leads feature a black actor in the prominent priest-in-training role, a South Asian actor as the tech specialist, and a white female psychologist as the central protagonist and mother. David's racial identity ties directly into season 2 church racism storylines. The protagonist's bisexuality receives explicit focus in one season 4 episode with prior subtext hints. Casting stands out as diverse in a Catholic Church investigation context, with story emphasis on identity in places.

Season 2 includes a police racism and corruption episode explicitly informed by the George Floyd murder aftermath, plus scenes of characters discussing racism inside the Catholic Church as an institution. Creators confirmed drawing from current events. These appear as case-driven dialogue rather than constant lectures.

The core premise and structure center on testing science versus faith and investigating the nature of evil through episodic cases with a larger mythology. Subplots touch on racism, sexism, and everyday "demons," and season 4 gives one episode focus to the lead character's bisexual experiences and seduction. These elements surface noticeably but remain secondary to the philosophical procedural format across four seasons.

The Catholic Church appears with bureaucratic flaws and internal racism affecting black priests and parishioners, and one episode critiques police institutions post-George Floyd. Some coverage notes references to toxic masculinity. The series balances this with portrayals of sincere believers, faith as potentially real, and open questions about evil rather than consistent modern activist framing of patriarchy, whiteness, or core Western institutions as inherently oppressive.

Niche audience complaints on Reddit, Metacritic user reviews, and forums accuse the show of race-baiting, woke content, SJW elements, liberal cringe, and agenda-pushing, especially around the police/church racism episodes, diverse lead casting, and perceived messaging. These treat the title as advancing identity politics or left-leaning content. Complaints exist across multiple threads but stayed limited and did not spark broad mainstream controversy or organized pushback.

Robert and Michelle King previously created The Good Fight, a series that repeatedly incorporated topical political, racial, and gender commentary from liberal perspectives during the Trump era. They applied similar current-events awareness to Evil, including post-Floyd storylines. Several writers including Aurin Squire and Davita Scarlett have backgrounds in politically or socially themed drama.