Michael Emerson confirms Evil’s final season “leaves the door open" for more – and has "perfect" ending for Leland
"I'm happy to say that there's a satisfying conclusion but it hasn't a quality of finality about it."
It's the final season of Evil and while the series draws to a close for US fans, it doesn't mean that it ends on quite as final a note as you'd expect.
The Paramount Plus series initially premiered back in 2019 but has now ended with season 4, meaning it's time to bid farewell to the supernatural series.
And although it may be time for it to leave our screens, series star Michael Emerson has confirmed that, actually, the ending of the series certainly leaves some scope for more.
Chatting exclusively to RadioTimes.com, the actor explained: "[The final few episodes] have a surprising and thrilling amount of compression in them, considering that the writers were given four episodes to wrap up our many narratives. I think they've done a crackerjack job of it.
"There's a lot happening in it. I'm happy to say that there's a satisfying conclusion but it hasn't a quality of finality about it."
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He added: "So it seems like the door is left open for, one could imagine, an extended narrative, or something could happen in the future, which is not to say that things don't get wrapped up in a fairly tidy way, but a little bit open-ended, which is how I would have wished it to be."
That final episode is set to be quite the emotional rollercoaster as we're set to say goodbye to stars Katja Herbers, Mike Colter, Aasif Mandvi and more. So, what was Emerson's reaction to that fateful final script?
He admits: "I thought, Oh, that's perfect. What happens to Leland and who accomplishes it is just right. I can't wait for that thing to air, because it's going to generate a lot of chatter and a lot of hope for the future."
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Emerson, of course, plays the role of Kristen's (Katja Herbers) professional rival and general villain Dr Leland Townsend. Having been in the series since the start, Emerson chatted about how it feels to end the show with season four.
He said: "Well, I prefer it to one of the options that were on the table, which was that it just ended at the end of season 4, which we had in the can.
"I suppose there was a scenario where season 4 would never have been aired. You see that stuff happen in our industry. So the fact that it has aired, and that it's run continuously through into the final four [episodes], I think that's a treat for the audience and satisfying for us who are in the making of it."
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The supernatural series follows psychologist Kristen Bouchard who has to reluctantly work together with David Acosta (Mike Colter), a priest in training, to investigate and find explanations for every supernatural occurrence within the church.
Reflecting on his time on the show, Emerson said of his character Dr Townsend: "Leland, of the lot, is the most fun. He's he enjoys his job or his villainy or his mischief, more than any other I’ve played.
"He seems untortured about good and bad. The things that get him down are if his plans go awry or if someone beats him at at something, then he's childish and put out. But basically, I do feel that on some level that I'm in a comedy in this show, and it has great humour in it.
"It’s also scary and very thought provoking, and sometimes terrifying, but I'm happy with the tone that the writers have taken from me and run with and it's a lot of fun to play."
Evil is available to stream on Paramount Plus.
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