The Untold Truth Of The Chucky TV Show

Slasher films are no stranger to reboots, remakes, and stark new directions. But the "Child's Play" franchise has always been different. Sure, the series has changed over the years, careening from straight-faced thrills into decidedly campier (and increasingly meta) territory. But the creative team has remained remarkably consistent — that is, until the reboot. 2019's "Child's Play" was the first Chucky film not to involve longtime writer Don Mancini (via Slate). Likewise, Brad Dourif, who has voiced the stab-happy doll for three whole decades, was replaced by Mark Hamill.

This caused a fair bit of drama, with Mancini refusing to give his blessing and snubbing an executive producer credit. As Mancini told director Mick Garris on Garris' podcast, "Obviously my feelings were hurt ... they just wanted our approval which I strenuously denied them ... it's not just a paycheck. It's very personal."

With a possible sequel to the 2019 reboot on the table (via Bloody Disgusting) and the old gang getting back together on the small screen, you might be wondering: How is this legally possible? Well, MGM owns the original 1988 "Child's Play" movie rights, allowing them to make their own rebooted version with their own creative team. Meanwhile, various studios distributed the original's subsequent sequels, chief among them Universal Pictures, who will be distributing the TV series. Thus, there are two distinct Chucky timelines: The 2019 reboot timeline, and the original Mancini-helmed timeline, which will be continuing on the small screen.

While long-time "Child's Play" fans will no doubt recognize the weight of Don Mancini's presence, the show's other bigwigs may require an introduction. Joining Mancini as executive producers will be David Kirschner, Nick Antosca, Alex Hedlund, and Harley Petyon.

If you're no stranger to Syfy, you'll likely recognize Antosca and Peyton from the critically-acclaimed horror anthology series "Channel Zero." Created, written, and overseen by Antosca, this series boasts four seasons of contained storylines based on popular "creepypasta" posts. Peyton served as a writer and producer on the latter two seasons of the show. Eagle-eyed readers might also recognize Peyton as the writer and producer of another haunting, surreal, and skin-crawling series: The culture-shaping TV sensation that is "Twin Peaks."

Kirschner's name should be ringing a couple of bells for "Child's Play" aficionados as well. He served as a producer on "Child's Play," "Child's Play 2," "Child's Play 3," "Bride of Chucky," "Seed of Chucky," "Curse of Chucky," and "Cult of Chucky." He's stayed true to the franchise through various tonal bobs and weaves, and his presence in a producer role on the 2021 series is further testament to the project's commitment to getting the gang back together. Plus, Kirschner's experience with spooky small screen projects like "The Last Halloween," "The Halloween Tree," and the short-lived 1992 "Addams Family" series is bound to come in handy.

Everyone's favorite homicidal doll has made the odd television appearance here and there. Chucky shows up on the "Robot Chicken" episode "Plastic Buffet," where the possessed Good Guy doll falls in with some chillingly soulless Cabbage Patch Kids. Fun fact: The skit features Mark Hamill as the voice of Chucky 14 whole years before the 2019 reboot! Chucky has also appeared on the small screen while promoting the franchise, perhaps most memorably in a 1998 Weekend Update segment on "Saturday Night Live," during which Chucky tries to massacre Colin Quinn. Furthmore, Chucky's been on at least five episodes of "The Simpsons," including the 2004 banger "The Ziff Who Came to Dinner." 

But for all the Easter eggs, cameos, and Superbowl commercials that have featured the murderous freak of nature, Chucky has never had a television show to call his own ... until now. Good for him! Follow your dreams, everyone! Just, maybe with less homicide.

In his exclusive chat with Syfy Wire, Don Mancini credited his involvement with two notable horror series for sparking his desire to bring Chucky to the small screen: Syfy's horror anthology "Channel Zero" and NBC's thriller procedural "Hannibal."

Mancini co-authored three episodes of "Channel Zero," two of which were penned alongside "Chucky" co-producers Nick Antosca and Harley Peyton. Likewise, Mancini wrote two episodes of "Hannibal." Mancini has been writing for the small screen since the early 1990s, including the episode "Fitting Punishment" for HBO's "Tales from the Crypt," which notably features an all-Black cast. That experience, combined with writing credits on not one, but two of the most critically acclaimed horror shows in recent memory, is definitely enough to fill one with confidence. 

"What Bryan Fuller was doing with ["Hannibal"] felt like fan fiction made by experts, and I really love that aspect of it," Mancini told Syfy Wire. "So I feel like, in a way, we're doing that with Chucky now. I'm working with all these really talented writers, all of whom are huge Chucky fans ... it's great to hear their ideas and just to start incorporating stuff into [the show] I might not have thought of."

Unlike his knife-wielding creation, Don Mancini is no dummy. You must balance the old and familiar with the new and exciting in a project like "Chucky." As a result, expect to see an intriguing smattering of new faces on the small screen series. "Chucky" will feature Devon Sawa ("Final Destination"), Barbara Alyn Woods ("One Tree HIll"), and Lexa Doig ("Jason X"). A fresh crop of young talent will also be present, including Zackary Arthur ("Transparent"), Teo Briones ("Ratched"), Alyvia Alyn Lind ("Daybreak"), and Björgvin Arnarson ("The Seventh Day").

Mancini has described Jake, the series' protagonist, as "a young artist [making] sculptures with doll parts. He finds Chucky at a yard sale" (via EW). Mancini has further noted that having "the protagonists [be] kids" is part of a larger plan to bring "Child's Play" back to its roots. "But since, with the first couple of movies, we'd already delved into having little kids, I wanted to explore something different," Mancini explained, "So this time we're exploring young teenagers."

Knowing the number of episodes slated for a TV season tells a fan a lot. Will the show in question be compressing its story into a smaller amount of hour-long episodes or a whole bunch of half hour installments? Will it include any two-parters or extra long episodes? These details offer insight into any given series, and "Chucky" is no exception.

In an exclusive statement to Syfy Wire, Mancini teased the channel's upcoming marathon of "Child's Play" movies as "a tasty aperitif in anticipation of Chucky's upcoming savory 8-course SYFY/USA TV series." While there is still some confusion over just how many episodes we're getting (Newsweek claims 10 episodes are coming), both counts are in a compact sweet spot. Celebrated series as diverse as "Stranger Things," "Broachurch," and "Big Little Lies" do a lot with a small number of episodes. "Chucky" is in good company.

Let's name a couple of Chucky's defining character traits, shall we? He's pint-sized, irritable, selfish, and homicidal. Oh, and he swears like a sailor. Seeing a child's plaything (albeit a decidedly unsettling and often badly mutilated one) unleash a torrent of dirty words is memorable, to say the least. If there is any doubt that this hunk of plastic is possessed by the spirit of a deranged maniac, his love of four-letter words erases it. This probably isn't what the manufacturers meant when they advertised their "talking" doll, but it serves them right for not being specific.

Appearing alongside executive producer Nick Antosca on San Diego Comic-Con's 2020 "Scary Good TV" panel, Don Mancini assuaged fans' fears that the small screen would limit Chucky's ability to, uh, express himself. "When [Antosca] and I set up 'Chucky' at Syfy, one of the first things we had to make sure of was that Chucky could drop his F-bombs, because it's such an intrinsic part of his character," he explained. "Fortunately, before we signed on the dotted line, they confirmed, yes, he can. I think he can drop, like eight F-bombs per episode, or something like that ... and I think there's variations depending on what time it airs." As Chucky would say, **** yeah.