The Exorcist is an American anthology horror supernatural drama television series that debuted on Fox on September 23, 2016. The series stars Alfonso Herrera, Ben Daniels, and is based on the William Peter Blatty novel of the same name. A direct sequel to the 1973 film of the same name (ignoring the events of the other films in the series), it is part of The Exorcist franchise.[2] It was commissioned on May 10, 2016.[3]

On May 12, 2017, Fox renewed the series for a second season, subtitled The Next Chapter,[4] which premiered on September 29, 2017.[5][6] On May 11, 2018, Fox canceled the series after two seasons.[7]

Cast [ edit ]

Main [ edit ]

Recurring [ edit ]

Episodes [ edit ]

Series overview [ edit ]

Season Episodes Originally aired Nielsen ratings First aired Last aired Rank Viewers

(millions) 1 10 September 23, 2016 ( ) December 16, 2016 ( 2016-12-16 ) 127 3.15[10] 2 10 September 29, 2017 ( ) December 15, 2017 ( 2017-12-15 ) TBA TBA

Season 1 (2016) [ edit ]

Season 2 (2017) [ edit ]

No.

overall No. in

season Title Directed by Written by Original air date Prod.

code US viewers

(millions) 11 1 "Janus" Jason Ensler Heather Bellson September 29, 2017 ( ) 2AZP01 1.58[21] Father Tomas Ortega and Father Marcus Keane try to save Cindy, a woman possessed by a demon following her miscarriage. But things get complicated when Cindy's husband refuses to believe in his wife's possession and tries to prevent the priests from saving her. But during one of the attempts to save the young woman, the demon arrives to penetrate the spirit of Tomas. On Nachburn, an island off Seattle, Andrew Kim is about to welcome Rose Cooper, a social services representative with whom he has a shared background, to determine whether Andrew's home is suitable for children. Indeed, the latter welcomes a group of children and orphans with problems. One of the children, Caleb, a blind teenager, begins to behave strangely. 12 2 "Safe as Houses" Deran Sarafian Adam Stein October 6, 2017 ( ) 2AZP02 1.36[22] 13 3 "Unclean" Ti West Manny Coto October 13, 2017 ( ) 2AZP03 1.35[23] 14 4 "One for Sorrow" So Yong Kim Rebecca Kirsch October 20, 2017 ( ) 2AZP04 1.23[24] 15 5 "There but for the Grace of God, Go I" Alex Garcia Lopez Alyssa Clark November 3, 2017 ( ) 2AZP05 1.45[25] 16 6 "Darling Nikki" Jason Ensler Franklin Jin Rho & Adam Stein November 10, 2017 ( ) 2AZP06 1.27[26] 17 7 "Help Me" Steven A. Adelson David Grimm November 17, 2017 ( ) 2AZP07 1.33[27] 18 8 "A Heaven of Hell" Meera Menon Heather Bellson & M. Willis December 1, 2017 ( ) 2AZP08 1.18[28] 19 9 "Ritual & Repetition" Elizabeth Allen Rosenbaum Sean Crouch December 8, 2017 ( ) 2AZP09 1.15[29] 20 10 "Unworthy" Jason Ensler Jeremy Slater December 15, 2017 ( ) 2AZP10 1.28[30] Two officials from the Vatican arrive to deal with Father Bennet. Marcus drags an unconscious Andy through the forest when he meets up with Tomas and Mouse. While Tomas watches over Andy in the abandoned shack, Marcus and Mouse begin to argue. Tomas is drawn into a trance, where he meets up with Andy. Andy tells Tomas to record a message for Rose and the kids. While the demon and Tomas struggle, Andy calls out to Marcus, asking the ex-priest to shoot him before the demon can enter Tomas. Marcus obliges, and fires a bullet into Andy's head, killing both him and the demon. With the demon gone, Tomas breaks free from the trance. Tomas then meets up with Rose and the kids, and he relays Andy's message to them. Marcus parts ways with Tomas.Tomas then leaves with Mouse as his new partner. Meanwhile, Bennet wakes up, and has been possessed. Three months later, Rose visits Truck in a mental hospital, and adopts him, along with Verity, Shelby, Caleb, and Harper. Meanwhile, Marcus is looking out over the water at the docks, when he finally hears God's voice. He becomes troubled, and whispers Tomas's name.

Production [ edit ]

Development [ edit ]

Jeremy Slater wrote the pilot. On January 22, 2016, Fox ordered the pilot to be shot.[31][32] The series is described as "a propulsive, serialized psychological thriller following two very different men tackling one family's case of horrifying demonic possession, and confronting the face of true evil."[31]

Casting [ edit ]

On February 24, 2016, Brianne Howey was cast as Katherine Rance.[33] On February 29, 2016, Hannah Kasulka was cast as Casey Rance.[34] On March 2, 2016, Alfonso Herrera and Ben Daniels were cast as Father Tomas and Father Marcus respectively.[35][36] On March 3, 2016, Kurt Egyiawan was cast as Father Bennett.[37][38] On March 7, 2016, Geena Davis was cast as Angela Rance.[38] On June 7, 2017, it was announced that Davis, Ruck, Kasulka and Howey would not return as regular cast members in the second season. Herrera, Egyiawan and Daniels will return, as their characters will preside over a new possession case.[39] In July, John Cho, Brianna Hildebrand, Zuleikha Robinson and Li Jun Li were cast in series regular roles for season two.[40][41][42][43] In August, Christopher Cousins and Cyrus Arnold were cast in recurring roles.[44]

Filming [ edit ]

Fox announced that the first season of the show would be shot in Chicago.[45] Season two filming began July 28, 2017, in Vancouver.[46]

Home media [ edit ]

DVDs for both seasons are available to purchase through Amazon.com beginning July 10, 2018.[47]

Reception [ edit ]

Ratings [ edit ]

Season Timeslot (ET) Episodes First aired Last aired TV season Rank Avg. viewers

(millions) Date Viewers

(millions) Date Viewers

(millions) 1 Friday 9:00 p.m. 10 September 23, 2016 ( ) 2.85[11] December 16, 2016 ( 2016-12-16 ) 1.75[20] 2016–17 127 3.15[48] 2 Friday 9:00 p.m. 10 September 29, 2017 ( ) 1.58[21] December 15, 2017 1.28[30] 2017–18 TBD 2.36

Critical reception [ edit ]

The Exorcist has received generally positive reviews from critics. Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes gives the series a score of 89% based on 51 reviews with an average of 6/10. The consensus says, "The Exorcist doesn't come close to its classic source material, but still boasts a tense narrative that manages some legitimate scares and credible special effects."[49] On Metacritic, the show has a weighted average of 62/100 based on 28 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews."[50]

Awards and nominations [ edit ]