Travel channel this past Sunday ( June 9) debuted the latest reboot of the iconic series Ripley’s Believe It or Not!, hosted by veteran actor Bruce Campbell. The show, documenting the kinds of oddball stories that Ripley’s (celebrating its 100th anniversary) has been documenting in syndicated newspaper cartoon strips for decades, has been revived several times since debuting in 1949. Campbell’s predecessors as host include Jack Palance, Dean Cain and Marie Osmond. Known for playing demon slayer Ash Williams in the Evil Dead movie franchise and, more recently, in the Ash vs Evil Dead series on Starz — as well as for roles in AMC’s Lodge 49 and FX’s Fargo (as Ronald Reagan) — Campbell also executive produces the new 10-episode Ripley’s. He chatted with Multichannel News about the new show and about the increasing opportunities to create and develop content across multiple platforms.

MCN: Your acting career spans more than 30 years. Do you feel this is the best time to be in the television industry, given the various distribution outlets and platforms?
Bruce Campbell: It is the best time to be in television. Thirty some odd years ago I did Knots Landing — it was my first TV show — and I was horrified as to how bad the writing and production was. Now TV’s the place to be. The best directors and the best writers are in television now. I don’t know how or when it turned. I think networks like AMC were at the forefront of creating original content that looked like movies.

MCN: Having said that, are you looking to develop other content for television?
BC: I’m going to set out to do a lot of scriptwriting. What I’ve learned is, you can’t get anything going unless you have something to get going. I can sit around all day waiting for scripts to come in, or I can be self-generating. I like to write what I’m interested in.

MCN: Having accomplished so much in television, could you have ever seen yourself hosting such an iconic show as Ripley’s?
BC: I’ve hosted game shows like Last Fan Standing, so it’s a [genre] I’m familiar with, but it’s fun to come back to it through such a solid brand as Ripley’s. Everyone knew about Ripley’s — that’s part of the reason I said yes. You mention the show and people remember how they saw other versions of the show, so I thought it was cool they were bringing it back. Ripley’s Believe It or Not! is an institution.

MCN: Travel Channel has branded itself as the network for paranormal and supernatural-themed, unscripted content. What is the audience appeal for the genre?
BC: It removes us from our mundane lives when we can see something that is extraordinary and is not normal. When you see abnormal things it doesn’t mean it’s bad, but with shows like Ripley’s, you’ll never see anything like this in your life.

MCN: The Evil Dead franchise has endeared itself to a generation of fans, both through movies and through Starz’s original series Ash vs Evil Dead. Why is that franchise still so popular today?
BC: It’s impossible to answer the question of why The Evil Dead was so popular. Part of it is that the lead guy doesn’t have any special skills. There’s a lot of relatability — he’s not a hero from another planet, he doesn’t wear a cape; he can be killed instantly and he’s almost killed a lot. He’s one of the few good guys in the horror genre. Some of the [horror characters] that have carried on — Freddy [Krueger] or Jason [Voorhees] — are bad guys, while ours is a good guy in the horror business that you can root for.

Travel Channel brings back the iconic series Ripley's Believe It or Not! on June 9, hosted by veteran actor Bruce Campbell. The series, which is celebrating its 100th anniversary and has been revived several times since 1949, continues to showcase unique and oddball stories reminiscent of the Ripley's brand. 

Campbell, known for his portrayal of demon slayer Ash Williams in the Evil Dead franchise as well as roles in AMC's Lodge 49 and FX's Fargo, discusses the series in an "MCN Content Spotlight" original video. 

Travel Channel will bring back the iconic documentary series Ripley's Believe It Or Not! this summer, the network said Wednesday.

The series, which initially launched on TV in 1949 and last aired on TBS in the early 2000s, will be hosted by Bruce Campbell (Evil Dead, Burn Notice), according to Travel. Similar to its previous iterations, Travel's 10-episode Ripley's Believe It Or Not! will showcase the most astonishing, real and one-of-a-kind stories, said the network. 

“Travel Channel fans have an insatiable curiosity about the world and sharing this wonderful and weird series with the next generation of fans is a thrill,” says Jane Latman, general manager of Travel Channel in a statement. “This entirely new version of Ripley’s is a fresh contemporary approach to the odd and unusual and will be jam-packed with larger-than-life characters, cool facts, history and science.”

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The third season of horror-comedy Ash vs. Evil Dead will start on Starz Sunday, Feb. 25.

The new season has 10 episodes.

The gory series stars Bruce Campbell as Ash Williams, the chainsaw-wielding anti-hero tasked with saving the world; Lucy Lawless as Ruby, the unpredictable foe and occasional ally with strong ties to the origin of the “Necronomicon”; Ray Santiago as Pablo Simon Bolivar, Ash’s loyal sidekick; and Dana DeLorenzo as Kelly Maxwell, orphaned in season one and ready to kick butt.

The new season finds Ash discovering his long-lost daughter, Brandy Barr, played by Arielle Carver-O’Neill. Ash’s status in Elk Grove, Mich., has changed from murderous urban legend to humanity-saving hometown hero.

Evil Dead filmmakers Sam Raimi, Rob Tapert and Campbell are executive producers on season three along with Ivan Raimi and Rick Jacobson. Mark Verheiden is showrunner.

Seasons one and two are available on the Starz app.

Discovery Communications made some management changes Thursday, naming former DirecTV marketing chief Paul Guyardo chief commercial officer, and expanding long-time executive Bruce Campbell’s responsibilities to include oversight of its domestic distribution business and its fast-growing Discovery Education division.

Guyardo joins Discovery officially on Oct. 5 in the newly created role, aimed at driving viewer engagement across all platforms.

“Discovery Communications has tremendous content and brands, passionate consumers and a world-class leadership team that I’m honored to join,” Guyardo said in a statement. “The potential for continued growth is enormous and I look forward to getting started.”

As chief commercial officer Guyardo will oversee U.S. ad sales, digital media, licensing and consumer products, consumer insights and data analytics and will report to Discovery Communications CEO David Zaslav. Guyardo will be based at Discovery’s New York headquarters. He was formerly executive VP, chief revenue and marketing officer at DirecTV

“Amid a rapidly evolving industry and shifting audience behavior, Discovery has maintained a steady, long-term growth strategy of investing in quality content, launching new networks and products and diversifying our IP mix to strengthen our brands and offerings,” Zaslav said in a statement. “Our go-forward success in a random-access world depends on how well we innovate and monetize our content and brands across platforms. Paul brings a track record of results in growing businesses and creating consumer-centric strategies to launch products, create new revenue streams and engage viewers. Adding him to the management team is a major win for Discovery, our business partners and our audiences, and I look forward to his leadership in creating new ways to drive value for our businesses across platforms now and into the future.”

As chief development, distribution & legal officer, Campbell will gain oversight of the company’s $1.4 billion Domestic Distribution business as well as of Discovery Education – Education president Bill Goodwyn will report to him. Cambell, who most recently served as chief development and legal officer, will be responsible for corporate development, including strategic planning and all M&A activity; all legal affairs, serving as the chief legal advisor to the company’s management and board of directors; business affairs; production management; and the company’s production studios.

Discovery’s brands are among the most widely distributed and highly valued in the world, and it is now more important than ever to innovate the ways in which we partner, distribute and position our company for growth,” Zaslav said in a statement. “Bruce has been my valued partner for many years, and has overseen the most significant business deals in our 30-year history. His strong and steady management style and thoughtful approach to Discovery’s future, coupled with his extensive experience working across our distribution renewals and education acquisitions, make him the right executive to oversee these additional parts of our business, and I look forward to his continued leadership in this expanded role.”