Last Updated: September 22, 2020
Unrelated to the recent remake, Syfy will soon play host to a Child’s Play TV show from original creator Don Mancini, and starring Brad Dourif as Chucky. Debuting in 1988, the Child’s Play franchise has lasted longer than most would’ve ever expected. For the longest time, it also held a rare distinction among its contemporaries, in that the franchise had never been remade or rebooted. That of course changed in 2019, when Orion Pictures released a Child’s Play remake in spite of Don Mancini’s public criticisms.
Due to a quirk in the rights though, while Orion’s parent company MGM has control over the first Child’s Play, the ability to make further sequels to the original continuity remains with Mancini and Universal Pictures. Thus, the remake won’t spell the end for original recipe Chucky, whose 7-film story will continue to develop on the small screen with a Child’s Play TV series. The show is set to simply be called Chucky.
The Child’s Play TV show was first announced by Mancini in early-2018, and has since been scooped up by the Syfy cable network, which makes sense, since Universal owns Syfy. While we wait for Chucky’s proper return, here’s what we know so far.
Child’s Play TV Show Release Date
Sadly, we don’t yet know for sure when to expect Chucky to come slashing onto TV screens. On January 11, 2020, Syfy officially granted Chucky a straight-to-series order, with no pilot required, and creator Don Mancini had said to expect the premiere in 2020 as well. That was until the Coronavirus pandemic, which has dragged on and delayed Chucky from starting production. The most recent plan was to start shooting in the fall and air in 2021, but now production itself has been delayed until 2021.
Child’s Play TV Show Cast
The first actor officially confirmed for the Child’s Play TV show was Brad Dourif, voice of Chucky in all seven prior films, and occasional portrayer of his human alter ego, serial killer Charles Lee Ray. The second was Chucky’s bride Tiffany (Jennifer Tilly). Prior statements by Mancini suggested that the TV show would continue Cult of Chucky’s story, which ended with Nica (Fiona Dourif) getting possessed by Chucky and driving off with Tiffany. However, plot details released alongside Syfy’s announcement of Chucky’s straight-to-series order have cast doubt on that perception, so it’s unclear who will work alongside Dourif’s vocal stylings on the show.
Child’s Play TV Show Story
As mentioned above, it was originally believed that the Child’s Play TV show would carry on the main continuity from the films, placing it after 2017’s Cult of Chucky. That was until plot details released in January 2020 seemingly contradicted that idea. According to Chucky’s official plot synopsis, the show is kicked off by by the arrival of Chucky in a small, quiet town, which is of course followed by a series of brutal murders. Along the way, the various secrets of the town’s residents begin to be exposed, and notable figures from Chucky’s past arrive to further complicate things. Charles Lee Ray’s mysterious childhood will also be delved into. While none of that necessarily precludes Cult of Chucky’s story being continued, it certainly doesn’t sound like a follow-up to that on the surface.
More: 10 Most Brutal Child’s Play Kills, Ranked
