Peacock’s coming-of-age thriller series “Hysteria!” plunged its small Michigan town into full-blown Satanic Panic. Thanks to its teen protagonists and an atypically sympathetic police chief, order is mostly restored in Happy Hollow by season’s end.
Chief Dandridge (Bruce Campbell) had a particularly stressful arc in showrunners Matthew Scott Kane (Stitchers) and David Goodman’s (The Orville) inaugural season; the observant yet patient small-town lawman nearly succumbed to the hysteria himself and rallied to survive a near-death confrontation with The Reverend (Garret Dillahunt). The finale wraps up the season’s overarching questions, yet leaves lingering signs that The Reverend and Tracy Whitehead’s (Anna Camp) devious machinations still have roots in Happy Hollow.
Considering that Campbell plays his cop character with unconventional kindness and is billed as a guest star, not series regular, where does that leave the actor regarding the future of the series?
“Well, I am under contract,” Campbell tells Bloody Disgusting in a chat post-season finale. “So, if they want me to come back, I will gladly come back. I think they’re running the analytics now, honestly, because the show dropped and you can get all eight episodes on Peacock. I recommend doing that; get Peacock. If you don’t have Peacock and you still want to watch it, USA, every Friday after wrestling. Friday nights, about 10:30 or something at night, it’s on. A lot of ways to find it. Either way, find it because it is a good show. I was attracted by the writing, not the fact that it was horror.”
This writer agrees that “Hysteria!” is a delightful surprise worth watching, with Campbell’s character being one of many examples of the excellent writing on display.
The series is appropriately set in the ’80s, yet most ’80s horror featured adults who refused to listen to teens in peril, and it often resulted in death. Chief Dandridge is the first to listen to the teens, acting as a father figure willing to extend help or advice, even when they get embroiled in the inciting case tied to the town’s increasing mania.
HYSTERIA! — “Heaven’s on Fire” Episode 108 — Pictured: (l-r) Nikki Hahn as Faith, Bruce Campbell as Chief Dandridge — (Photo by: Mark Hill/Peacock)
It was Chief Dandridge’s unconventional persona and writing that drew Campbell to the part in the first place, and the actor couldn’t resist the new spin on a familiar ’80s movie archetype. The writing made it easy for him to find the humanity in his character, far removed from the typical cop role he’s seen countless times before.
He explains, “I base him on the cop that I want in my small town. Cops and citizens have not always gotten along as of late. It’s important to portray a different side of cops. Because look, I’ve worked with cops a lot on movies. They block traffic, help your base camp stay safe, and provide security. Burn Notice: we had the same cop for seven years. This guy Taser Tom, we called him, because he loved to tase people. But he had an amazing sense of humor and was a total real guy; he felt stuff, he hurt, he was in pain, and we saw him cry a couple of times. They’re real people. That’s what’s important. Just stop with the cliche characters of My Way or the Highway: the guy drinks, smokes cigarettes, and beats his wife. That’s too easy. Make a guy who’s well-rounded. So, I reward good writing by saying, ‘Yes, I’ll be part of that because I want to say those words.’“
Despite Chief Dandridge’s unwavering patience when it comes to the many mistakes the teens in this series make, one key mistake caught even Campbell by surprise: Dandridge’s precious granddaughter Judith (Jessica Treska) is a significant catalyst in the town’s mounting hysteria. “He’s completely mortified by the fact that his own flesh and blood may be at the root cause of this. That’s good writing. You don’t expect the chief of police’s granddaughter to be at the heart of this. So, it’s fun to reveal it as an actor; I didn’t know that was coming. I feel the same as a viewer; where you turn the page, and you go, that’s interesting. Even the end of the season is lots of dot dot dots happening there.“
Even the deeply rational Dandridge found himself afflicted by fear halfway through the season, sporting the telltale rash, which gave Campbell plenty to sink his teeth into as an actor. Especially considering the obvious parallels between the ’80s Satanic Panic and contemporary misinformation. “Truth is everything,“ Campbell says of the prescient series and the key to Dandridge’s salvation. “Especially today, if we can discern what is truth and what is not truth. I’m stunned at the amount of nontruths that are being sold as truth. Truth is kind of under attack. It’s kind of crazy. So, I thought it was fun to make that a central point of the show. Are the kids having fun? Is it just a rock band? But there are weird markings on animals in the woods, and these murders are a little weird. Is it real? Is it real? Are these band members just, ‘Hey, hey, it’s publicity, man. We’re starting a rock band. They think we’re Satanic worshipers. Cool. Filled the room. Filled the room.‘ So, I don’t know.”
HYSTERIA! — “It’s Late” Episode 107 — Pictured: (l-r) Anna Camp as Tracey Whitehead, Bruce Campbell as Chief Dandridge — (Photo by: Mark Hill/Peacock)
One of the dangling threads by season’s end is that of Tracy Whitehead. Anna Camp’s character is in police custody, but it’s abundantly clear that she’s amassed a devout following that all but guarantees trouble should the series get renewed for a second season. Could that lead to an explosive confrontation between the antagonistic zealot and the patient police chief in the future?
“That needs to come to a head. That needs to come to a massive mano a mano,“ Campbell agrees, then reflects. “I kind of think we should team up. No, no. It could be good because he’s like, ‘You don’t want this in your town. I don’t want this in our town. I know stuff, you know stuff, together maybe we can get rid of this, whatever it is.‘ I’m talking out of my head here, but who knows? It just shows you there’s a lot of stuff you can do. There’s more to it. I think they have more gas in the tank, and that’s important for a show; what do you have left?
Campbell finishes our chat, “Now we leave it up to the TV gods to decide if we come back for more. But I think a second season would be really cool because where it left off, you’re kind of like going, what?”
“Hysteria!” is now streaming only on Peacock.