Ash vs Evil Dead
Ash vs Evil Dead is an American comedy horror television series developed by Sam Raimi, Ivan Raimi, and Tom Spezialy for Starz. The series is set in the Evil Dead universe created by Raimi, with Bruce Campbell reprising his role as Ash Williams from the film series. Ray Santiago, Dana DeLorenzo, and Lucy Lawless also star.
The series premiered on October 31, 2015. Three days before the series's premiere, Starz renewed it for a second season, which premiered on October 2, 2016. Starz renewed it for a third season, which premiered on February 25, 2018. The series was canceled after three seasons on April 29, 2018; however, in July 2022, Campbell confirmed that an animated revival was in active development.
Premise
The series is set approximately 30 years after the first three Evil Dead films and serves as a sequel to that trilogy. Ash Williams works at the "Value Stop" as a simple stock boy. Also working at the store is his friend Pablo and the object of Pablo's affections, Kelly. Ash has seemingly done very little with his life since returning from 1300 AD at the end of Army of Darkness, and the beginning of the series sees him living in a trailer and drinking alone in bars. However, Ash must soon renounce his routine existence and become a hero once more by taking up arms and facing the titular Evil Dead. Pablo and Kelly decide to join him on his quest to save humanity.Cast
Main
- Bruce Campbell as Ash Williams: Ash has changed in the 30 years since Army of Darkness. In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Campbell stated, "Ash has survivor's guilt. You could have a heyday with his PTSD. He's a war vet. He doesn't want to talk about it, and he'll lie about that stump on his hand to impress the ladies. This is a guy who's got some issues. He's emotionally stunted. But, he's the guy you want in the foxhole next to you." Over the course of season one, it is revealed that following the events of the film trilogy, Ash spent thirty years drifting from town to town, living in a mobile home trailer, with his pet lizard, Eli, and working a series of dead-end jobs at different branches of Value Stop. Ash has attempted to destroy the Necronomicon on multiple occasions. Unable to be rid of the book, he instead becomes its de facto caretaker. In season two, it is revealed that Ash had returned to his hometown of Elk Grove, Michigan, after the events of the films. The people of Elk Grove refused to believe his stories of Deadites, and instead accused him of murdering his friends and his sister in the cabin, shunned him, and dubbed him "Ashy Slashy".
- Ray Santiago as Pablo Simon Bolivar: A co-worker who became Ash's loyal sidekick. Pablo believes that Ash is a true hero and calls him "El Jefe" as a mark of respect. Santiago describes his character as an "El Jefe in-training". He was raised by his uncle, "el Brujo", a shaman, who told him stories of an evil power which can only be defeated by "El Jefe". He fights valiantly alongside Ash and Kelly before being torn to ribbons by the demon Baal, but was resurrected thereafter. Through a ritual in season 3, Pablo succeeds his uncle as a "brujo especial".
- Dana DeLorenzo as Kelly Maxwell / Sorceress Kaya: An occasionally moody and initially reluctant co-worker of Ash and Pablo, Kelly is dragged into the fight against evil after she is orphaned. She is often described as a spiritual daughter of Ash. Impulsive but really good at fighting and improvisation. She is a crucial member of the "Ghostbeaters". She and her family are Jewish. Her mother died in a car accident six months prior to the beginning of the series.
- Jill Marie Jones as Amanda Fisher : A Michigan State Trooper who set out to find Ash following the death of her partner.
- Lucy Lawless as Ruby Knowby / Rebecca Prevett: A mysterious figure who is on a quest to hunt down the source of the recent evil outbreaks.
- Michelle Hurd as Linda Bates-Emery : Ash's high school girlfriend who is now married to Emery, the sheriff of Elk Grove, and has a daughter, Lacey. She is one of the few people in Elk Grove happy to see Ash return.
- Ted Raimi as Chet Kaminski : A hard-partying old childhood friend of Ash's who was secretly intimate with Ash's sister, Cheryl, thirty years prior, and pays the ultimate price for it. Raimi had previously appeared throughout the Evil Dead series in various cameo and stand-in roles.
- Arielle Carver-O'Neill as Brandy Barr Williams : Ash's long-lost daughter, a smart middle-class American high school senior whose life is upended when she finds herself caught up in violent demonic events that result in her mother's death.
- Lindsay Farris as Dalton : A member of the Knights of Sumeria, an ancient order dedicated to battling evil.
Recurring
- Samara Weaving as Heather The sole survivor of a hiking group, she is rescued by Pablo and Kelly when they reach the cabin. She is later indirectly killed by Ruby when the evil is set loose.
- Hemky Madera as El Brujo Pablo's shaman uncle, Ash, Pablo and Kelly go to him for help against the Kandarian Demon. He is killed by the demon Eligos when he performs an exorcism on Kelly to release her from Eligos' thrall.
- Lee Majors as Brock Williams Ash's father, whom Ash has not seen in 30 or so years, since the events of Evil Dead. It is from his father that Ash got his bad habits, and it's hinted that he has stolen girls/women from Ash in the past. His day job is as a hardware store owner; his slogan is "Brock Williams - has wood - call me." He blames Ash for the death of his daughter, Cheryl, but then, minutes before being killed by his son's possessed Oldsmobile 88, comes to realize that his boy was actually a hero. He later appears as a spirit to help guide Ash on how to defeat the Deadites.
- Stephen Lovatt as Sheriff Thomas Emery The husband of Linda whom Ash used to pick on in highschool. He is now the strict sheriff of Elk Grove.
- Joel Tobeck as Baal A diabolical demon and Ruby's ex-husband who wants the Necronomicon for his own nefarious purposes. His abilities include using lust to manipulate others, possessing human bodies and the ability to slow down time near a target where-in he can converse with or injure said target. When Baal is using this power, nobody seems to be able to see him besides the person he is interacting with. Ruby has also mentioned that he is impervious to physical attacks and can only be harmed through mystic or spiritual means. Ruby also disclosed that she didn't "choose" him when they became a couple, but had used his powers on her. It isn't clear if he is meant as a nod to the Biblical Baal or the Canaanite Baal.
- Pepi Sonuga as Lacey Emery : Thomas' and Linda's 17-year-old daughter who becomes possessed by Kandarian spirits and is killed by Kelly.
- Emilia Burns as Zoë, a Knight of Sumeria who helps Ash in his crusade.
- Katrina Hobbs as Candace "Candy" Barr-Williams, An ex-girlfriend of Ash's who is the mother of their daughter Brandy. Ash married Candace in Branson, Missouri when they were drunk, and she never sought a divorce/annulment, leaving them legally married. She was later killed by a deadite before becoming one herself at her own funeral.
- Samantha Young as Natalie, A woman who Ruby kidnaps and holds hostage to be a sort-of babysitter for her spawn. She is later killed by the demonic baby.
Special guests
- Rebekkah Farrell as Linda
- Ellen Sandweiss returning as Cheryl Williams from the original Evil Dead movie.
- Nicholas Hope as Professor Raymond Knowby
- Alison Quigan and Ted Raimi as Henrietta Knowby
- Kelvin Taylor as an Orderly
- Jeffrey Thomas as Stanley Gibson
Production
The pilot episode of the series was written by Sam Raimi, Ivan Raimi and Tom Spezialy. In February 2015, original film series producer Robert Tapert returned to produce along with Raimi, Campbell and Craig DiGregorio. Ray Santiago and Dana DeLorenzo were cast in the lead roles of Pablo Simon Bolivar and Kelly Maxwell, and Jill Marie Jones was cast as Amanda Fisher, a Michigan State Trooper. In March 2015, Lucy Lawless was cast as Ruby, a mysterious figure who's on a quest to stop the evil outbreak and believes that Ash is the one who's the cause of it. In April 2015, Starz released a new graphic teaser advertising the TV show is coming in the fall of 2015, along with a new poster for the series. Filming commenced in Auckland, New Zealand later that month.
Due to legal issues with Universal Pictures, the events from Army of Darkness could not specifically be mentioned in the first season. In April 2015, the producers made it clear that they wanted to resolve the issue, and in mid-2016, producer Robert Tapert stated that the rights issue had been solved and that references to Army of Darkness would appear from season two onward.