A Groovy, Gory Great Time: Celebrating 10 Years of ASH VS EVIL DEAD

On October 31st, 2015, Evil Dead fans, and horror fans in general, were reintroduced to Ashley “Ash” Williams, played by the legendary Bruce Campbell. This time, he wasn’t on the big screen but on our televisions in his eponymous series, Ash vs Evil Dead, developed by Sam and Ivan Raimi (Army of Darkness), and Tom Spezialy (Watchmen). All three wrote the pilot episode, “El Jefe,” with Sam Raimi back in the director’s chair. 

My love of the series inspired me to rewatch the original trilogy, since my first encounter with The Evil Dead was as a scared kid watching it through my fingers with my older cousins. I didn’t see the sequel until I was in college at a midnight showing in the front row, straining to see what was going on and wincing at the very loud audio. For years, vague memories of the skeleton graveyard scene from Army of Darkness were the source of many nightmares. Of course, rewatching that scene as an adult, I realized it’s pure slapstick and some of Bruce Campbell’s best physical comedy.

Despite rave reviews for each of its three ten-episode seasons, Starz cancelled the series in April 2018 due to low ratings. Ten years later, the Campbell-led series still holds up as an exciting chapter in the franchise and as one of the best horror shows ever. 

Ash vs Evil Dead picks up over 30 years after the end of Army of Darkness (although, due to copyright issues, that film couldn’t be mentioned until season 2). Set to the tune of Deep Purple’s “Space Truckin',” the pilot episode opens with Ash rocking out in his trailer with a box of Hi-C, cinching himself into a girdle, and twisting on his wooden hand. The womanizer hits up a local bar for a drink and a bathroom romp, but the fun is cut short when a milky-eyed Deadite quickly takes over his new lady friend. Shaken by the experience, he goes home and remembers a wild, drug-fueled night with a woman that led to them irresponsibly reciting the incantation in the Necronomicon Ex-Mortis, aka the Book of the Dead. Once again, Ash has awakened the Kandarian Demon, this time unleashing evil in his hometown of Elk Grove, Michigan. 

When he’s not partying or summoning demons, Ash works as a stock boy at Value Stop (no, not S-Mart). He goes to what he plans to be his last shift before hopping in his Delta and heading out of town to escape his problems. But after his co-workers Pablo Simon Bolivar (Ray Santiago) and Kelly Maxwell (Dana DeLorenzo) find themselves caught up in his mess, the reluctant hero grabs his boomstick and chainsaw arm and gets to work doing what he does best: killing Deadites in gloriously violent ways. 

Pablo, a pure-hearted Ash-in-training, and the aloof but deeply loyal Kelly become his ride-or-die sidekicks in his Deadite-hunting quest, joining him on a road trip to different experts who might know how to undo it all. This trio is what really makes Ash vs Evil Dead work. Campbell, Santiago, and DeLorenzo have great chemistry and comedic timing. Their addition adds depth and heart to the series and to Ash as a character. Before they team up to fight evil, while at work Ash hits on Kelly, Pablo’s (and maybe everyone’s) crush. But they quickly establish a more father-daughter dynamic. 

When I first watched the pilot episode, what stood out to me was that it had the most diverse cast in the franchise so far. Pablo’s Latino heritage and Brujeria lineage become more important as the series goes on. Ever the lothario, Ash is constantly flirting with women. His first actual love interest in the series is Detective Amanda Fisher (Jill Marie Jones), who’s on her own nightmarish misadventure in search of the truth after she went head-to-head with two Deadites. Her investigation leads her to Ash, and after proving he’s skilled at taking out evil entities, she starts to fall for his weird charm. Amanda, as well as season 2’s Linda Bates-Emery (Michelle Hurd), could’ve been fleshed out more, but we know how Ash’s romantic relationships tend to end. Still, I was pleasantly surprised at the lack of tokenism.

The rest of the series introduces new characters and brings back some familiar faces. In season 1, Detective Fisher later meets the enigmatic badass Ruby (Lucy Lawless), an antagonist who goes on to have a larger role in the following seasons. Future scream queen Samara Weaving also appears in a few episodes as a lost hiker. In season 2, Ted Raimi returns as Henrietta in her Deadite form and as a new character, Chet Kaminski, a childhood friend of Ash. Ellen Sandweiss reprises her role as Ash’s sister, Cheryl, the first to get possessed (and “branch banged by a demon tree”) in the 1981 film. We also meet their dad, Brock Williams (Lee Majors), for the first time, and in the third season, Ash finds out he has a daughter, Brandy (Arielle Carver-O'Neill).

After the cancellation, fans petitioned for a renewal, hoping Netflix would buy the rights and continue the story. The platform never picked it up for more seasons, but it did make the series available to stream at one time. Compared to Starz, Netflix is more popular and accessible, allowing an even wider audience reach. Since 2022, Campbell has discussed voicing Ash in an animated series, though not as a continuation of Ash vs Evil Dead. As of October 2024, the project is still in development.  

Raimi and Campbell have produced newer installments in the franchise, including Fede Álvarez’s 2013 Evil Dead and Lee Cronin’s 2023 entry, Evil Dead Rise. The creative duo has expressed interest in keeping the franchise alive with films, like Sébastien Vaniček’s Evil Dead Burn, set to release in 2026. While Campbell previously stated he’s retired from the role, he’s on record saying he’d consider making a return in a Sam Raimi-directed project. 

A decade after its premiere, Ash vs Evil Dead remains an essential, if underrated, part of the Evil Dead legacy. Not only is it a continuation of Sam Raimi’s trilogy, but it also expands the world of Ash Williams, adding new and returning characters. It gave me a whole new appreciation of the genre-blending franchise as a whole and the incredible creative team behind it. With all of its impressive practical effects, creature designs, props, stunts, and sets, the forgotten series is a groovy, gory great time.

References

Gingold, M. (2024, March 17). BRUCE Campbell says he’d star in another EVIL DEAD Movie—On one condition. FANGORIA. https://www.fangoria.com/bruce-campbell-says-hed-star-in-another-evil-dead-movieon-one-condition/ 

Otterson, J. (2018, April 20). ‘Ash vs. Evil Dead’ Canceled at Starz After Three Seasons. Variety. https://variety.com/2018/tv/news/ash-vs-evil-dead-canceled-starz-1202775341/

Pomales-Diaz, L. (2025, August 5). HORROR 101: THE KANDARIAN DEMON, DEADITES, AND YOU. Horror Press. https://horrorpress.com/misc/3632/horror-101-the-kandarian-demon-deadites-and-you/