Psychologist Kristen Bouchard is surprised when told a serial killer she’s assessing has claimed to be demonically possessed…

In a time when so many shows shy away from the concept of evil, preferring to look for the good in people (or alien creatures, depending on the show!) all the time, it’s quite refreshing to have a series that puts the concept front and centre. In the world created by Robert and Michelle King, it’s there – it’s a question of whether it is something man-made, deriving from our psyche, or from something more supernatural. Mike Colter’s David Acosta is studying to be a priest and is working for the Catholic church assessing claims of demonic possession requiring exorcism, as well as potential miracles.

The pilot works well in establishing the key characters. Katja Herbers’ Kristen, who’s something of a force of nature, has a good chemistry with Colter, and while it would be easy for the show to lazily become an X-Files clone with Kristen as Scully, I suspect given its pedigree that it will be rather more nuanced. The worldbuilding is done, of necessity, in broad strokes for this first hour, but there’s lots to unpack in future episodes.

Robert King directs the script he co-wrote with his wife, and establishes a visual style that presses into the personal space of the characters at key moments. This isn’t as clear cut as the much-missed Exorcist was in terms of the existence of evil – at least of the spiritual kind – and there’s decently done scares, as well as a fascinating character called George who I hope isn’t just around for this episode.

Verdict: Colter and Herbers anchor an intriguing show that is definitely worth checking out. 8/10

Paul Simpson