Ash Vs Evil Dead

The ‘Evil Dead’ franchise has one of the most passionate fan bases around, but unfortunately, the series ‘Ash Vs. Evil Dead’ aired on the premium network Starz meaning that it was never going attract the largest audience and it failed to draw viewers outside of its niche.  After three seasons, Starz pulled the plug.  Producers Rob Tapert and Sam Raimi knew this was a strong possibility and had mapped out a plan to carry on the ‘Evil Dead’ story in another medium.

As Tapert stated while appearing at Motor City Comic Con:

“We had a really great idea for where it was going to go in the future, and it was something Sam had been talking about: rebooting a movie. What that scenario could be.  And then, Bruce wrote to Sam and I one day, ‘If they don’t [renew the series], I’m retiring from Ash.’ [We asked], ‘But wait Bruce, what about a movie?!’ [Campbell noted], ‘No, I’m retiring.’ So. We’ll see.”

Many fans directed their frustration over the cancellation at Starz, but Tapert says that the network was actually very supportive, but that at the end of the day, ‘Ash Vs. Evil Dead’ simply wasn’t getting strong enough ratings.  And since Starz owned the show, this isn’t a situation where fans can lobby another outlet to pick it up.

“We knew going into the third season that there was a chance [we’d get canceled]… the ratings had been turning down and it’s hard to change that.  Starz had been a good partner. Pretty much letting us do anything we wanted. It was probably just not the right outlet for it… but they waited until the ratings came in for the third season. We sold the rights to the first two seasons to Netflix, but they won’t let a competitor have something [that’s theirs]… which I kind of understand. It’s unfortunate.”

Tapert and Raimi are considering a way to continue or reboot the ‘Evil Dead’ saga some other way, without Campbell as Ash.

Source: Bloody Disgusting