Actor Bruce Campbell in the TV series “Satanic Panic” “Hysteria!” and a project carried out in Oregon

For some viewers of “Hysteria!” » the main character, caught in the chaos.

Campbell is, after all, beloved by fans of the cult horror franchise “Evil Dead,” in which Campbell plays Ash, the demon-fighting hero who has a chainsaw for a hand.

But one of the surprises of “Hysteria!” sees Campbell as the voice of reason, playing a police chief who tries to uncover the truth about what’s happening, even though everyone around him seems overwhelmed by fear-mongering theories and rumors.

“I’ve done some big, crazy things before with chainsaws and blood,” Campbell, who lives in southern Oregon, said in a recent interview. “Everyone be crazy. It’s okay, I can be a rational guy now.

“Hysteria!” “, whose cast also includes Julie Bowen (“Modern Family”) and Anna Camp (“Pitch Perfect”), tells the story of what happens in the fictional town of Happy Hollow, Michigan, in the 1980s The disappearance of a popular high school quarterback sparks a wave of “Satanic Panic,” the conspiracy-fueled belief that people were possessed by Satan and engaged in occult rituals and other evil acts.

As anxiety grows in the city, the high school students in a heavy metal band called “Dethkrunch” decide they can attract attention by pretending they’re part of a cult that worships Satan. But their pretense works too well: one of the members of the group is quickly suspected of being behind the footballer’s disappearance.

As the strange experiences pile up, the city’s police chief, Ben Dandridge, seems to be almost the only person keeping a cool head as he tries to differentiate between fact and fear.

Although Dandridge sometimes wonders if there really are occult forces at work in Happy Hollow, Campbell said the role appealed to him because the leader wasn’t written as a caricature.

“A lot of writers write cops as one-note characters,” Campbell said, “my way or the highway” types, who are heavy drinkers, smoke cigarettes, “you know, that kind of okay. It’s too easy.

Campbell cites his years as an actor on the series “Burn Notice” and how working with cops makes you “get to know them.” They cry, they have problems, their wife divorces, their dog hates them.

Instead of Chief Dandridge being the cliché version of a cop, Campbell liked how the character had a greater dimension to him. “I read this,” Campbell said, “and I thought, ‘Oh wow, I wish this guy was my police chief in my little town.’”

Speaking about his small town, Campbell said he recently filmed a film in his community in southern Oregon’s Rogue Valley. The film, titled “Ernie and Emma,” is set in “the fictional town of Pear Valley, Oregon,” Campbell said. “I play Ernie Tyler, the Willy Loman of pear sellers. His wife dies and she leaves him very specific instructions on what to do with her ashes, but not everyone is happy.

The project is a drama, and “it’s sort of a story of their lives, and so I decided to write a big, fat role myself.” I wrote, directed, starred in it, all the way through. We are in the process of finishing it and will be finished in April. It’s an age-appropriate role. Nobody writes good roles for guys like me. You know, I’m 66 years old and no one’s like, “Hmm, what can I write for Campbell?” »

Once the film is finished next year, Campbell said he plans to “take Ernie and Emma on the road and do a dog and pony show to get this thing out to the general public.” I’m actually looking forward to it because I’ve toured a lot and done a lot of things in these big old theaters.

Campbell said the film is “a weeper, as they say.” I call it a sunrise story. It starts out pretty dark,” but as the journey progresses, Ernie feels his wife guiding him on his next journey.

“So it’s a love story, but with a dead woman,” Campbell said. “It’s like a Hallmark movie, with swearing. That’s what this movie is.

“Hysteria!” broadcasts all eight episodes on Peacock.

—Kristi Turnquist covers features and entertainment. Contact her at 503-221-8227, [email protected] Or @Kristiturnquist

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