How ‘Evil’ and Andrea Martin Created the Toughest, Funniest Nun on TV

You’ve never seen a nun quite like Andrea Martin’s “Sister Andrea” on Paramount+’s Evil. At first blush, one might mistake her for an ordinary woman of God; in fact, the characters around her tend to do just that. But much like all of Martin’s characters—from Aunt Voula in My Big Fat Greek Wedding to Francesca Lovatelli on The Good Fight—anyone who underestimates our Sister in Christ does so at their own peril.

Evil creators Robert and Michelle King (who, incidentally, also spawned The Good Fight) knew what they were doing when they brought Martin on as a series regular for this season, which comes to a spectacular close Sunday night. In fact, Sister Andrea might be the most formidable nun we’ve seen on screen in recent memory; she kills demons no one else can see, and she’s the only one that consistently puts Leland Townsend (played by Michael Emerson, our consummate TV villain) in his place.

More importantly, however, Sister Andrea is a comedic force to be reckoned with—a font of dry humor, coy smiles, and one-liners. Her chief passion in life (apart from riding the bus) seems to be allowing everyone around her to think they’re in control when really, much like Leland, she’s the one pulling the strings.

Consider, for instance, this season’s third installment, “The Demon of Sex." Andrea quietly sits in on a counseling session, in which psychotherapist Kristen Bouchard (Katja Herbers) advises a couple who can’t have sex without breaking into hives and, on one harrowing occasion, finding giant claw marks across their backs. Although Kristen is reluctant to let Sister Andrea sit in, the superstitious nun is the only one who really knows what’s going on: As the couple discusses their issues with Kristen, Andrea’s staring down a demon in the corner of the room.

When David asks why he, a priest, cannot see the supposed demon—or the snail trail of goo that it’s left on the floor—our lady of perpetual bluntness does not mince words. “Because,” she says, “you’re not as good.”

Like most Evil pursuits, Sister Andrea’s demon hunting is often more humorous than scary. The series’ demon design has long been one of its best assets. (Sometimes literally, as in the case of one demon who chooses to moon Sister Andrea.) An even more consistent source of comic relief, however, are the cutaways in the middle of Sister Andrea’s epic showdowns—which reveal that, to everyone else, she’s yelling at thin air.

And while The Daily Beast would never spoil what’s to come in this week’s finale, lest we be haunted like those who choose to skip the show’s opening credits, I will say this: Sister Andrea’s got a lot of demons to kill, and each one is more stunning than the last. But are these hairy, scaly, slimy guys really a bigger challenge for Sister Andrea than Kristen’s daughters, whose incessant chattering and rough manners she seems hellbent on reigning in? That might be a matter for Season 4 to tackle.

One thing we do know, however, is that Sister Andrea’s work is far from over. Although Martin, a seasoned comedic actress, relishes the laughs she can bring in her role, what really grounds her character, as she put it in a recent interview with TV Guide, is Sister Andrea’s mission.

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“She can joke, she can talk about sex, she can talk about her own relationship, she can do all that,” Martin said. “But her mission is to completely abolish evil from the world. And when your feet are grounded like that, you can’t go too far anyway.” Hear, hear—and here’s to more demon smiting (and, hopefully, even more Andrea Martin) in Season 4.

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