Often, when someone describes a show as "fun," what the other side hears is, “it’s bad, but it’s so entertaining that it doesn’t really matter.” Most recently, classifications such as this have been ascribed to the likes of Arrow, The Flash and Limitless. However, regardless of what the other side may think, all three of these shows (and others like them) are just as good, in their own ways, as anything else mainstream academy voters put up as “great” television, such as Breaking Bad, Mad Men and the most recent Emmy winner for best drama, Game of Thrones. It is in this vein we must judge Starz’s newest series, Ash vs. Evil Dead.
Thirty years after the events of the Evil Dead film series, Ash Williams is living quietly out of a trailer in Middle America so as to avoid the attention of the evil that once came for his life. However, everything changes the night he “accidently” reads from the Necronomicon and brings the evil to his doorstep. Now, seeing no other option, Ash must suit up one last time in order to translate the book and stop the evil once and for all.
Bar none, Ash vs. Evil Dead is the most entertaining show of the fall. It out-actions The Player, out-joys Limitless and out-paces Scream Queens. Of course, none of that’s surprising given the trailer that was released during San Diego Comic-Con this past summer. Rather, the real question that needs to be answered is: is Bruce Campbell’s return to the role that made him famous “good?” And the answer to that is no... it’s great.
Ash vs. Evil Dead is great television because it doesn’t care if anyone thinks it’s going to be or not. The show’s out to please no one but the fans that stuck with the franchise over its thirty year history. With all the chainsaw action, deadite mayhem also true is by being so committed to its cause, the series creates a level of confidence that draws in audience members that may, perhaps, not be as invested in the return of the original Evil Dead franchise.
If one was simply a fan of Campbell’s work on Burn Notice, for example, they’ll find much to enjoy about Ash vs. Evil Dead because the now aged version of the famed character plays much like the aforementioned show’s Sam Axe without the beach-side bar hangout. If there’s an individual just looking to satiate their need for a new action based series that brings the heat much like some of the small screen’s recent greats including Strike Back and 24, this show will also have them covered. There are many ways to enjoy Ash vs. Evil Dead that will play to a variety of different audiences, and if that isn’t the mark of a great series, what is?
Concerning the business side of things, Ash vs. Evil Dead is going to be a breakthrough moment for Starz. While the likes of Spartacus and Boss were all well and good, this is very likely going to be the series that actually gets people to purchase the premium station – at least for a couple months. It’s something the network has always lacked. It’s never had the series that made audiences need the channel or risk falling behind in cultural relevancy. Come Monday morning, Ash is going to be a hot topic for much of its target demographic, and that means some are going to, very likely, get the urge to sign up in order to watch.
What Sam Raimi, Bruce Campbell and Starz have done with Ash vs. Evil Dead is truly commendable. Through sheer will, they’ve found a way to revitalize a seemingly dead franchise in a respectful and glorious way while also giving a struggling network reason to push for the next wave of its success. Some will ask if Ash vs. Evil Dead is “good,” and it is, but the first two episodes make it clear the show has nothing left to prove. It’s succeeded in wondrous ways while making great promises of what’s to come over the course of the coming season, and that’s all it ever needed to do in the first place.
Ash vs. Evil Dead premieres Saturday, October 31st at 9/8c on Starz
