‘Evil’ Bosses Talk Sheryl’s Motivations & Why Andy’s ‘Trapped’

“I think she’s always worried about not having power in life, that men have power, and she’s worried about that for her granddaughters and she’s pursuing what she thinks is an institution that will get her more power,” executive producer Robert King tells TV Insider. “But of course, there’s a glass ceiling there again.”

There’s also the question of just whose side she’s on; she says she’s not on Leland’s side, and that’s obviously true, but is she on Kristen’s or just her own? “I don’t think Sheryl always understands her own motives,” says executive producer Michelle King. “So on the one hand, she may believe that she’s on Kristen’s side and her granddaughters’ side, but in fact, she’s pretty self-serving.”

Elsewhere, Kristen’s husband Andy (Patrick Brammall) continues to go through it, thanks to Leland and Sheryl’s manipulations carrying over from last season. In this episode, Kristen finds him on the floor under the bed (he says he had a nightmare about being trapped), a doctor finds injection marks between his toes leading to concerns of drug use, and the kids find him curled up in the tub, ignoring his phone (it’s Leland calling to try to activate him once again to whisper in his ear, but the girls, even though they have no idea what’s going on, shut him down and calm their father).

“He’s really in it,” Michelle King says of Andy this season.

Adds Robert King, “I think Andy’s trapped because some of this is stuff beyond his understanding and not beyond Kristen’s understanding. But some of it is his own failings, too. It’s difficult because he’s been away for so long, it’s hard for this family to get any rhythm back together again. As soon as he is, there’s another problem and now it’s off again. So it’s a difficult one for a family, especially Kristen who has been doing so well with her daughters on her own.”

Evil, Thursdays, Paramount+