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'The Evil Dead' will rise again in 2015 as a Starz TV series

'The Evil Dead' will rise again in 2015 as a Starz TV series

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Director Sam Raimi and Bruce Campbell are back to bring the horror/comedy cult hit to the small screen

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Artwork from 'The Evil Dead: Ultimate Edition'
Artwork from 'The Evil Dead: Ultimate Edition'
Anchor Bay Entertainment

Those pesky deadites won't stay dead! The Evil Dead, the influential 1980s horror/comedy trilogy from director Sam Raimi, is being resurrected as an original TV series on Starz in 2015, the company announced today. That follows Raimi's confirmation last summer that he and his brother Ivan were writing the series. And not only is Raimi back onboard to direct the pilot, but Bruce Campbell will return in his iconic starring role as Ash Williams, the tenacious and wisecracking warrior/stock boy. The 10 half-hour-long episode series, titled Ash vs. The Evil Dead, which takes place about 30 years after the events depicted at the end of Army of Darkness, will air on Starz sometime in 2015. Here's the official synopsis from the network:

The STARZ Original series officially titled "Ash Vs. Evil Dead" will be 10 half-hour episodes. Bruce Campbell will be reprising his role as Ash, the stock boy, aging lothario and chainsaw-handed monster hunter who has spent the last 30 years avoiding responsibility, maturity and the terrors of the Evil Dead. When a Deadite plague threatens to destroy all of mankind, Ash is finally forced to face his demons –personal and literal. Destiny, it turns out, has no plans to release the unlikely hero from its "Evil" grip...

If that doesn't get you excited, this quote from Campbell should:

"I'm really excited to bring this series to the Evil Dead fans worldwide - it's going to be everything they have been clamoring for: serious deadite ass-kicking and plenty of outrageous humor," said Bruce Campbell.

The original Evil Dead trilogy, with its charmingly low-budget (but effective) gore effects and schlocky dialogue, is responsible for spawning an entire generation of "cabin in the woods" horror imitations. It later became the subject of a musical, several comics and video games, and the original film was remade last year in a far more serious fashion. The fact that Starz would seek to breathe new life into it isn't surprising in the least, especially given the network's aspirations to reinvent itself as a destination for more celebrated original programming in the mold of its sibling HBO (see The Knick, which premiered earlier this year). Now it just remains to be seen how many boomsticks will be in store for viewers come next year.