The ‘Chucky’ TV Series Gets a Straight-to-Series Order at SyFy [TCA 2020]

Ahead of SyFy’s panels for the Television Critics Association, the cable channel announced the Chucky television series, based on the Child’s Play horror franchise, had been given a straight-to-series order. /Film has been following the Chucky TV series for a couple years, from creator Don Mancini’s comments after the last film Cult of Chucky, to executive producer Nick Antosca talking about the show last year at the TCAs. So it’s nice to see the series get a home.

Cult of Chucky, the seventh film in the series, left Chucky the killer doll (voiced by Brad Dourif) in an interesting place. He’d developed voodoo powers to possess multiple Good Guys dolls at once, and in the end possessed Nica (Fiona Dourif), allowing him to walk out of the hospital with Tiffany (Jennifer Tilly). Here’s what the new show is about.

In the new Chucky television series, after a vintage Chucky doll turns up at a suburban yard sale, an idyllic American town is thrown into chaos as a series of horrifying murders begin to expose the town’s hypocrisies and secrets. Meanwhile, the arrival of enemies — and allies — from Chucky’s past threatens to expose the truth behind the killings, as well as the demon doll’s untold origins as a seemingly ordinary child who somehow became this notorious monster.

That premise suggests a lot of things. One, there is still a Chucky doll possessed by the spirit of Charles Lee Ray. Thanks to the cult of Chuckies established in Cult, that also doesn’t preclude Nica from returning. The arrival of enemies and allies from Chucky’s past would hopefully include Andy Barclay (Alex Vincent), the first owner of the Chucky doll, and Tiffany herself.

Mancini will write, showrun and direct the first episode of Chucky. Otherwise, Antosca and producer David Kirschner have said previously that the series would get back to the roots of the first movies, involving Chucky and children. A suburban yard sale seems like the perfect place for a well-intentioned parent to pick up an old doll for their kid.

Straight-to-series is a fast track in TV terms. Normally a network orders a pilot and evaluates the pilot to decide whether a series is viable. In the case of Chucky, the first seven movies must serve as a pilot. Or maybe the ideas that Don Mancini and David Kirschner have are so good that they don’t need to see a pilot.

“The character Don and David created has terrified audiences for over 30 years,” USA/SYFY President Chris McCumber said in the press release. “The longevity and legacy of Chucky speaks to the creative storytelling and the loyal fans the film series has collected over the years. We are excited to once again partner with Nick and UCP on this new SYFY series, and are incredibly proud to bring Chucky to television for the first time with the original creators.”

The question is if Chucky goes for multiple seasons, will each new season focus on a different Chucky doll being possessed somewhere else? That could make for a fun combination of an anthology series that still has a serial arc. No word on when the series will arrive on SyFy, but we’ll keep you posted.

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