If the idea of another nerdy reality competition TV series fills you with dread... well, that’s kind of what the upcoming series Bruce Campbell’s Horrified is going for. The good news is, obviously, that the impossibly charismatic Bruce Campbell will be involved. The bad news is everything else.
The show comes from King of the Nerds producers Craig Armstrong and Rick Ringbakk, which, if you watched it, was less about celebrating and skewing nerd culture and more about reinforcing stereotypes that adults who love comics, superheroes, video games, etc., have no hope of ever functioning in polite society. Since horror isn’t exactly as equated with immaturity as nerdery is, hopefully Horrified will stick more to an actual game show than just mocking its contestants? Here’s Deadline describing the series, which is currently being pitched to networks:
The concept is still being fine-tuned but I hear the contestants would live together, possibly in a haunted house-type of residence, and will compete in a series of team and individual challenges, with each episode themed around a horror sub-genre, like monster, sci-fi, psychological, zombie, etc., completed with decors, costumes and visual effects associated with that genre.
Like in King Of The Nerds, “we hope to bring celebrities associated with that genre as judges” in the respective episodes, Armstrong said. As for the contestant casting process, it also will be similar to King Of The Nerds, with the show looking for “die-hard, obsessive, funny, bigger than life characters in the horror space.”
That doesn’t sound promising at all. Still, Bruce Campbell loves horror and appreciates the genre’s fans, even as he pokes fun at them—so he’s perfect for the show being described here. Plus, he’s been much, much, much more involved with fandom than the King of the Nerds hosts ever were, so it’s entirely possible he won’t allow the show to alienate his legion of fans, his people? Well, not only is his name on it, but he’s producing it, too... Maybe he can prevent this show from being a disaster.
...yeah. And maybe I’m a Chinese jet pilot.
Contact the author at rob@io9.com.