‘Discontinued’ Host Bruce Campbell on Ryan Reynolds’ Tears & His Nostalgic New Docuseries

Have you ever asked yourself what happened to the cute Furby now in the attic or that BlackBerry phone you have stuffed in a drawer? Well now you can find out the stories behind the products in docuseries Discontinued, which delves into the rise and fall of some of America’s most iconic brands, tv shows and more.

The show is narrated by actor and moviemaker Bruce Campbell of  The Evil Dead movie series. It’s airing on Ryan Reynolds’  Maximum Effort channel on Fubo. The project was created and directed by Brian Volk-Weiss (The Toys That Made Us), who serves as executive producer with Reynolds.

Campbell enlists the help of a team of comedians and pop culture contributors to lend their entertaining commentary about the things we loved and maybe forgot about. Here he previews the new show and explains the staying power of The Evil Dead universe.

It’s always a plus when Ryan Reynolds is attached to a series.

Bruce Campbell: Ryan called, and he was basically on the edge of tears. It was kind of embarrassing. I’ve never heard him like this. He was begging me to do it. I thought, “Come on Ryan. You can get some other guy to do this show.” He says, “No, we’ve done all the research. It’s only you.” So, he had to pay a lot of money, but he got me. Honestly, it’s great to work with a guy like Ryan Reynolds because the guy has a plan. Then you have Brian Volk Weiss, the director of these things, and his (The Nacelle Company) who made it. These guys know what they are doing. It was a very pleasant shoot talking about things that are no longer around.

Any topics you were excited to tackle? 

We did like 40 of these, but I was a big fan of the topic of BlackBerry taking a dive because that one I really watched happen. A lot of these toys we feature, I have yet to encounter them. So it was news to me. The Blackberry I watched as my agent’s tears streamed down his face. He had to give up his beloved BlackBerry because nobody was using it anymore. A lot of these things we tackle are so obscure, I don’t even remember them. A lot is new to me as they would be for you. With the idea of being from the future and in a bunker, I think they wanted to put a fun spin on it. That AI has taken over the world. We’re talking about the good old days.

What are your thoughts on AI?

AI has to get a lot better. I’m afraid of it because of how bad it sucks. How it’s going to take over?  I tried to do some AI images. I said to do Bruce Campbell starring in an action movie. It was the creepiest, strangest amalgamation of images. They are not there yet. They aren’t ready to take over the world yet. Vocally, they can make Hank Williams do a rap song, and you’re convinced it’s him. They are getting better and better. I love the fact they have to have a disclaimer on articles now that it was partially done by AI. You can tell within the first paragraph when it starts waxing philosophical about nothing. I’m not worried about AI just yet.

You’re fun on social media as you respond to The Evil Dead fans’ artwork and fan fiction. This year there was a new movie in the series. The show Ash vs. Evil Dead is finding new audiences landing on Hulu. How is it to see the franchise’s staying power after all these years? 

I’m grateful. It has had a long life. The first movie was shot in 1979 in Morristown Tennessee. It’s coming up on the 45th year. These movies got us into the industry and taught us how to make movies, sending me on my path to doing my own stuff. I never want to be typecasted as the Evil Dead guy, but I don’t care if it happens. I made a lot of stuff that isn’t Evil Dead. I made a French film and movies all around teh world. I’ve enjoyed the longevity of the series because I think audiences like stories about average people trying to overcome really horrible odds.

What do you see for the future of the franchise? 

It’s all new stuff. Out of the cabin. Out of the woods. We saw the recent movie centered on a high rise. I think you’re going to see new scenarios pop up now. We have two movies planned, and I think it’s going to be shorter than 10 years in between. More to come.

You’ve been active on the convention scene. How is it meeting fans? 

It’s fun, but mostly I enjoy meeting my contemporaries at the conventions. You go to the green room after these signings and run into Elvira or Stan Lee sleeping in a chair or [William] Shatner on Twitter doing his thing. The greenroom is like Switzerland because you are allowed to approach everyone because you’re there for the same purpose. It’s great to meet people. I look forward to the Fan Expo in New Orleans. There are a lot of people I want to reconnect with.

Who have you recently been excited to meet? 

Bob Eubanks was a game show host in my formidable years. People may go, “Who is Bob Eubanks?” I don’t care. He is Bob Eubanks and still going strong in his 80s. You’re going to meet all kinds of people.

Do you see any overarching theme of what went wrong with the different products, ideas, shows, brands, etc. discussed? 

No, creative stuff is never a slam dump. I’ve done a lot of movies that I thought would make a lot of money and they died on the vine. And other things that I didn’t think much of take off. Creative things can’t always succeed and never always do.

But it’s always worth trying. 

Definitely. You can’t blame any of these movies, TV shows, theme park ideas park ideas. I’ve tried to make a lot of TV shows. George Clooney, how many pilots did he do before ER? George did 10 or 15 of these. I’ve done three or four that never got picked up that I thought were perfectly viable TV shows. They can’t kill you for trying.

Ash vs Evil Dead – Season 3, 2017 – Arielle Carver O’Neill, Bruce Campbell, and Ray Santiago

What shows are you watching now? 

The Bear. The cooking show. It’s unbelievable. TV is in a great place. Succession just finished, as well as The Morning Show. There is a lot of great TV now.

Is there a role you want to play that you haven’t? 

I never play that game. Why do that?

To put it out in the universe

I take stuff as they fall off the truck. I’m an actor so I make my living on make-believe. As a person, I live in the world of reality.

The show has you placed in 2037. Where do you see yourself then? 

Hopefully still here. Let’s start with that. Being alive.

Discontinued premiere, November 30, 8/7c, Maximum Effort Channel via Fubo 

New episodes move to Wednesdays at 9/8c starting December 6.