#Is Ben Starting to Believe? (VIDEO)

In the July 4 episode, “F Is for Fire,” psychologist Kristen Bouchard (Katja Herbers), priest-in-training David Acosta (Mike Colter), and skeptical tech expert Ben Shakir (Aasif Mandvi) encounter a nine-year-old girl, Mathilda, who is seemingly haunted by a Jinn, a spirit in the Islamic faith. TV Insider has an exclusive sneak peek as the team debates what it is, if it exists, and, of course, religion.

First, Kristen wants to know if a Jinn is a demon. “It can be, though some Jinns can be benevolent, or they can be both,” Ben explains. “Jinns can be one thing to one person and another to another.” For example, they’re very real to his mother.

As for what David believes, Ben answers for him: “Demons are real, Jinns are not because Jinns are not in the Bible.”

Watch the clip above for more, including why Ben likes Jinns — and if the skeptic thinks he might be starting to believe.

Paramount+

Speaking of whether or not things might be testing his perspective, Ben is dealing with his own demon, Abby, much like Kristen did with George in Season 1. “Abby to us was like this femme fatale character in that she represents different things to Ben at the same time,” co-creator Robert King told TV Insider. “She represents his inability to commit to a relationship. By the way, we’re talking psychologically. You could imagine it works supernaturally, too, but at least at this point she represents the nagging wife, the girlfriend who only wants sex, and all these kind of chauvinistic tropes about women are bumping around within Abby.

“I think the core of what she’s going towards is something Ben did in his past that Ben has always felt guilty about, which is why a person so good at what he does is in this lowly position as a personal contractor,” he teased.

Evil, Sundays, Paramount+