Evil's Creators Planned To Satirize Two Hit Legal Dramas In Season 5

Before teetering between the secular and the spiritual on "Evil," Robert and Michelle King were best known for their work on legal and political dramas. In some respects, the CBS-to-Paramount+ series was a stark departure from their usual material, though it still spent its fair share of time in the courtroom. Apparently, that would only have been more-so the case had "Evil" not ended prematurely with Season 4.

When speaking with TV Insider about what a proposed fifth season might have looked like, the Kings revealed their plans to explore the inherently demonic nature of the court system. "There were going to be more demons kind of infecting the courthouse and Kristen [Katja Herbers] was going to have to be much more involved," Robert King explained. "We were trying to satirize the work we did in 'Good Wife' and 'Good Fight.'"

Of course, the TV power couple created both shows in 2009 and 2017, respectively. "The Good Wife" ran for seven seasons on CBS, while "The Good Fight" produced six seasons on streaming. In 2024, the Kings returned to that shared television universe with the Paramount+ series "Elsbeth" (a show known for reuniting "Good Wife" alumni) which hit the streamer six months before "Evil" concluded.

"Evil" only briefly touched on the potential of demonic courtroom drama in the fourth season when Leland (Michael Emerson) is put on trial. Yet, per the Kings, this was only the tip of the iceberg. "We were even going to pull in—we did bring in Richard Kind—a lot more of the actors from 'Good Wife' and 'Good Fight' and kind of show, hopefully in a very meta way, self-reflecting of—a lot of the buildup of those shows was how justice can go wrong," the "Evil" co-creator added.

Kind had previously played Judge Alan Davies on the Kings' previous legal dramas before appearing as Judge Jared Jeter on "Evil." No doubt, Kind would have returned for more courtroom antics — beyond chopping off the heads of star witnesses — if fans had gotten their way with a fifth season renewal. Despite Stephen King's championing of "Evil," it does not appear that the show will be returning any time soon, and that's a shame.

While not name-dropped by the Kings, it's possible that (availability providing) "The Good Fight" star Christine Baranski could have appeared in some sort of demonic courtroom capacity. After all, she and Robert King are both practicing Catholics who have been known to attend mass together. Considering that "Evil" has been known to influence "The Good Fight" on occasion, it's no surprise that the Kings hoped to nod back to their popular legal dramas.