Horror franchises coming to the small screen!

A trend is forming. It started months ago when I first saw news of a Hellraiser TV series in the works. Then, later, I saw news of a Friday the 13th TV series (one actually featuring Jason this time). And now, just yesterday at San Diego Comic Con, Sam Raimi and Bruce Campbell are putting together an Evil Dead TV series. Here’s what we know so far on the lot of them!

Friday the 13th:
Some may not recall, but there has already been a Friday the 13th TV series. It ran from 1987 to 1990 and was created by Frank Mancuso Jr, producer for Friday the 13ths 2 through 8. However, the series has nothing to do with Jason Voorhees. It was instead about a group of people trying to hunt down a bunch of cursed antiques. It was originally going to be called 13th Hour, but Mancuso decided to label it Friday the 13th for the sole purpose of drawing in an audience.

This time around is a different story. Here’s the deets:
-Each episode will be an hour long.
-Sean S. Cunningham (producer/director of the original Friday the 13th as well as producer for Jason goes to Hell, Jason X, Freddy vs Jason, and the Friday the 13th remake) is executive producer.
-The plot of the series is described as both imagining Jason in multiple time periods and as contemporary, with a group of Crystal Lake residents dealing with the return of Jason.
-Pamela and Jason’s lives before his drowning are set to have details told through flash backs.
-Tommy Jarvis, Jason’s personal Ahab, is rumored to appear. When questioned, Cunningham coyly dodged giving a straight answer.
-Also rumored, Elias Voorhees, Jason’s father, might make appearances.
-Just because it’s on cable, don’t expect them to skimp on the blood!

Hellraiser:
Hellraiser has seen more bad sequels than most franchises. Some argue that only the first 2 of the 9 films are any good at all. I say the first 4. The most recent, Hellraiser: Revelations, was so bad that horror icon Doug Bradley turned down the role of Pinhead for the first time after playing it on 8 separate occasions. Rumors circulate that Revelations was essentially an ashcan movie, made as cheap as possible to allow Dimension to retain the rights long enough to get a remake made.

Here’s what we know on the proposed TV series:
-Sonar Entertainment (formerly RHI Entertainment) is developing it
-Sonar is partnering with Eric Gardner’s Panacea Entertainment and Eric Gardner is exec producing alongside Larry Kupin (Kupin’s old studio, New World Entertainment, made the first 2 Hellraiser movies)
-There has been no mention of Clive Barker being involved
-This blurb is taken from Sonar’s website:
One of the most successful (and terrifying) franchises in film history is ready for its weekly television debut.
For over 25 years, fans have followed the exploits of an insidious villain named Pinhead, summoned from a nightmarish underworld by an ancient puzzle box. He will seduce you with power and tempt you with fear, until your soul belongs to him.
Now, for the first time, a weekly series set in the fantastic realm of Hellraiser will thrill audiences worldwide.

Evil Dead:
Evil Dead has the fewest number of film installments on this list, currently numbering only 4 (although Army of Darkness 2 is apparently in development). Most recently we saw the 2013 film Evil Dead which many consider to be a remake but is in fact stated to be a sequel set in a separate dimension that will crossover with the original film trilogy universe in a proposed future 7th Evil Dead movie (after Army of Darkness 2 and a sequel to the 2013 film in question). That’s a little far away to be taken as gospel, but we’ll see what happens.

Here’s what little we know about the proposed TV series:
-Sam and Ted Raimi are writing the script
-Bruce Campbell is involved somehow. (EDIT 7/27) BRUCE IS CONFIRMED TO STAR!!!
-Some reports indicate that 2013 Evil Dead director Fede Alvarez and co-writer Rodo Sayagues may be working on it in some capacity as well.

And now you know as much as I do. Don’t touch that dial! Stay tuned for updates here at theblood-shed!