Young ‘Evil’ Stars Dish About New Season

Alabama; Troy — The young actors on Paramount+’s “Evil” help balance out the unsolved mysteries on the supernatural series that recently debuted its third season.

The last season left viewers in shock with an unexpected kiss and picks back up with the adult characters all working together to better understand what evil really is when you factor in religion and science. In the midst of all the paranormal activities, there’s a family.

YR Media spoke with the show's young stars — The Bouchard Girls — Brooklyn Shuck, Dayla Knapp, Maddy Crocco and Skylar Gray about the new season and discussed similarities with their characters, rewarding moments, biggest challenges and advice.

YR Media: Without giving too much away, what can my audience expect in this new season?

Brooklyn Shuck,17, (Lynn): The season is physiologically thrilling as ever! I would say it's bold, daring, and scary of course. There's a lot of exciting things that the season explores that we haven’t seen. I’m really excited for you guys to see. This season is really intense and it's nothing like you’ve seen before and I also think being on Paramount+ has allowed it to push boundaries. What makes it distinct is that it focuses on science and religion in such an interesting and respectful way which I think is what makes it so special and I’m just very excited for the direction we have gone and especially my character. It has been really cool to see the growth of that.

Maddy Crocco,11, (Lexis): Please watch it with your legs on. Please do not get scared to death because I know I probably have recorded some scenes. I think you will be surprised with some things you will see and you will probably have theories and questions. Some of them will be answered and some of them won’t and I think that whole aspect of the unknown is very creepy but is also intense. It makes you want to keep watching and see what happens next.

YR: What do you love about your character and how can you relate?

Dalya Knapp,11, (Laura): My character is kind of like funny, and I guess when you get to know me you think I’m funny. She’s really not my age. She’s like five but I kind of just understand her because we are close in age even though we are not the same and she’s funny. 

Brooklyn: Lynn and I are the same because we have experiences growing up and challenges that we face, and I relate to a lot of those. The relationship she has with her sisters is so strong and I feel the exact same way with them off-screen and its really easy to play that and really feel that because it is all real and Lynn has to deal with a lot of difficult challenges as most teenagers have to, so I relate to her in that way. 

Skylar Gray,13, (Lila): I really love Lila because we are similar in so many ways, but we are also different in so many ways. She is so curious, inquisitive and excited when it comes to Kristen’s job and she asks a lot of questions and she’s curious and I’m like that too. I don’t think I've got into a fight with the girls, but Lila gets into quarrels all of the time with them, but she still loves them so much and so do I. The girls are some of my best friends ever and I’m so glad that I met them. 

Maddy: I think one of the things that really stand out to me about Lexis and notice is unlike me, I think I am a very loud and outspoken person, but the thing is with Lexis, she kind of keeps it in but that does not mean she is not watching. Lexis is an observer. She watches everything that goes on. She can remember anything on the spot and she knows what's happening. Although she may not say she knows what's happening, she does. 

YR: Why is it rewarding for the youth to be a part of this production?

Maddy: I think it is really great. I think the production is really amazing. We’re supported by everyone and everyone is so kind. We really got lucky with this one because no one would ever try to bring you down. Everyone is happy to be there and everyone just wants you to be happy. I am very excited that they are like that because this is my first show and I feel very welcomed into this business by such a loving cast and production.

Brooklyn: I think there is a really great contrast with us and our energy and I find a lot of the audiences like having that aspect and it is rewarding to see that response from audiences and that they enjoy having that familiar aspect and it creates familiarity for people with families.

YR: What's the biggest challenge you have faced when fulfilling this role and how has it helped you to grow? 

Skylar: I think the biggest challenge I have faced is trying to get into the perspective of my character. Although we are similar, we are also very different. It’s been harder to focus on emotional scenes because of how much I love everyone around me and how hard it is to start crying in front of some of my best friends and closes people in my life. I think it helped me grow by sometimes using them as one of the methods that will help me get into the emotional scene and think about how much I love them. It has also helped me grow because I realized I’m more comfortable around them and it has made it easier to help me with the scenes. 

Dalya: I had COVID when I was on my way to work one day and it was hard because I was like what are we going to do? Are they going to reschedule or am I going to be cut and it was kind of crazy. I kind of just learned that like I can’t really control that and I just have to focus on how like they really appreciate all of being there and nothing bad is going to happen. 

Brooklyn: With the circumstances of the show, it’s such a dark film and living truthfully in that can sometimes be a little bit difficult, so that’s definitely a challenge. I’ve been doing this since I was seven. There’s a lot of challenges that come with being a child in this industry in general but I think the writers have done a great job at having Lynn grow with me I felt which is really lovely

YR: Is there any advice you would like to give to a young aspiring actor?

Brooklyn: Our show focuses on faith and facts and I think those two things play big parts in this industry. I think the fact of knowing your capabilities and owning your skills and the faith of hoping that someone will recognize that, so I think there’s a parallel there and I think you just have to keep working, not give up, and stay consistent, have faith, and practice, practice, practice, of course. 

Maddy: I also think that since I’m such a newcomer into this business - it’s not like I was thrown right into this, but it was very shocking to know I got the role. It’s like ok we got to do this, so I definitely relate to any young actor. Stop thinking about it because you’re here for a reason and everything happens for a reason and you’re the reason you’re here. 

Stream “Evil” on Sundays on Paramount+.