'Child's Play' TV Series Announced

- June 22, 2018
Don Mancini, creator and producer of the long-running Child's Play franchise of horror movies, just announced via Twitter that a Child's Play TV series is coming.

The franchise, which launched in 1988, centers on Chucky, a doll possessed by the spirit of a serial killer. The series has thus far spanned seven movies, with more rumored. A crossover with A Nightmare on Elm Street was even floated at one point.

With a TV series in the offing, it is impossible to know whether rumored sequels, one of which involved the various Chuckys from the Cult of Chucky, will be folded into the TV series or whether they will attempt to make movies and the show at the same time.

You can see Mancini's teaser tweet below.

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Brad Dourif and Jennifer Tilly, who have provided the voices of Chucky and his bride Tiffany, seem likely to return, although the brief tease provided by Mancini is silent on casting.

Mancini has done a bit of TV work in recent years after a career spent writing mostly for feature films. He is credited with an episode of Hannibal as well as a handful of episodes of Channel Zero.

Mancini's tweet does not reveal where the project is set up or what format the series will take.

Earlier this year, Mancini told Bloody Disgusting that he was developing a Child's Play series which would share a universe with the movies and feature Dourif's voice, rather than going the arguably simpler route of rebooting the property and starting the TV series from ground zero.

“We plan to use Child’s Play in the title,” Mancini said at the time. “We want to definitely signal that we are going dark, darker than ever before. It’s going to be very creepy.”

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A similar project, SYFY's Tremors series, was passed on by the network in spite of fan enthusiasm and the involvement of Kevin Bacon, who had been absent from the long-running series since the first movie.

There is no firm release information yet about the Child's Play TV series. This is a developing story.

Syfy is looking to be friends to the end with Chucky.

The cable network won the television rights to the horror franchise in a competitive bidding situation. The deal allows Syfy to create a series based on the murderous red-haired doll possessed by a notorious serial killer. A TV show has been long-teased by original creator Don Mancini, and now a network is on board.

Mancini will serve as writer and executive producer. Mancini co-wrote 1988’s Child’s Play which kicked off the franchise, as well as penned its six sequels and directed three of the films. Longtime franchise producer David Kirschner is also on board, along with Nick Antosca (who worked with Mancini on Hannibal and Channel Zero).

“I’ve long wanted to bring Chucky to television and Syfy is the perfect network for us,” Mancini said. “The show will be a fresh take on the franchise, allowing us to explore Chucky’s character with a depth that is uniquely afforded by the television series format, while staying true to the original vision that has terrorized audiences for over three decades now.”

The team also wrote a statement by Chucky himself: “In these troubled times, I believe it’s my obligation as a horror icon to reach the widest possible audience, on TV,” said Chucky. “For over 30 years, I’ve been scaring the s–t out of you. But now at Syfy, I look forward to really making a difference.”

Last June, Mancini teased his TV series idea: “One of the things that has kept the franchise alive and thriving for so long is that we’ve reinvented it in different ways, by making it a comedy, and then back to horror,” he said. “But the sheer storytelling real estate of doing eight to 10 episodes… will allow us to delve into characters and relationships in a way that we’re never afforded in just a 90-minute movie. That’s really exciting to me. We’re going to be able to explore different avenues with different characters that are among fan favorites. A lot of times people will say, ‘What’s Tiffany’s backstory?’ and ‘What about Glen or Glenda?’ All these different avenues. Now we have a way of exploring all of this, and that’s really exciting.”

The news comes as a remake of the original Child’s Play — the first film without Mancini at the helm — is set to hit theaters on June 21. The film is directed by Lars Klevberg (Polaroid) and stars Aubrey Plaza.

Last month, Syfy officially announced the Child’s Play TV series that creator Don Mancini has long been teasing. Mancini will collaborate with Channel Zero creator Nick Antosca, who hired Mancini as a writer on Channel Zero.

Antosca spoke with /Film about his new Hulu series The Act, but we were able to get an update on the Chucky series he’s developing with Mancini.

It’s All in the Name

Chucky is so famous that many casual viewers may not even remember that the franchise was originally called Child’s Play. Until this year’s unrelated remake, the last movie with Child’s Play in the title was released in 1991.

“The working title is Chucky,” Antosca said. “That could change, but that’s the working title.”

From Bride of Chucky to Cult of Chucky, the name of the killer doll has taken over the title. That’s why the title of the series makes sense.

“I agree,” Antosca said. “You know what that is when you hear the word.”

It Will Be Like the Early Films

Chucky was always a smartass, but in Bride of Chucky he became a full on comedian. Seed of Chucky pushed comedy even further, with Chucky visiting the set of a Chucky movie. Curse of Chucky reoriented the series back towards horror, but it still had plenty of laughs. Antosca said the series will go back to basics.

“The series is going to be closer to the tone of the first two movies in the series though,” Antosca said. “It’s going to go back to a sort of classic scare.”

One part of the first two Child’s Play movies was that protagonist Andy Barclay was a young boy. Antosca confirmed that the Chucky series would return to the idea of Chucky going after children. That’s a potent theme. Kids are always begging their parents to believe things that don’t sound true. Parents, exhausted by work and the responsibility of raising children, may dismiss things that don’t impact the here and now. Give kids a real unbelievable problem like a doll possessed by a serial killer and they’re totally screwed.

Plus, the modern world of 2019 exacerbates this. What if those kids share their tales on social media, in a world that has heard kids blame murders on a Chucky doll before? There’s a lot to mine there.

Ade Due Damballa

With seven movies, Chucky has a rather complex mythology. It all started with a voodoo spell placing the soul of murderer Charles Lee Ray (Brad Dourif) into a Good Guy doll. By Bride, he put his girlfriend in a doll too, and they had a child together. By Cult, Chucky had the power to possess multiple bodies simultaneously.

Antosca wants new viewers to feel welcome to Chucky, but won’t contradict any of the films’ mythology.

“It’s consistent with that mythology, but it’s a whole new story,” Antosca said. “So you could come into it without knowing anything about the previous stuff and get into it. But it is consistent with all the mythology that has come before, so it is in canon.”

Going back to the first two films suggests a simple story: a killer doll that kids have to convince their parents is real. I’d love to see where Chucky goes with the new powers he developed in Cult, but the opportunity to extend the killer doll slasher movie longer than a 90 minutes is just as enticing. Plus, as Curse of Chucky showed, they can say they’re going back to straight horror and still have surprises.

Where’s Jennifer? Where’s Fiona?

Once Jennifer Tilly debuted in Bride of Chucky, she became a franchise mainstay. Fiona Dourif played a major role in Curse and Cult. Even Alex Vincent came back as an adult. Chucky will focus on new characters, but Antosca teased some cameos by regulars.

“They might pop in eventually, but it’s new characters,” Antosca said. “I don’t want to say anything definitive. I want to leave that to Don, but let’s just say that there might be opportunities in the story for Jennifer or Fiona to make an appearance. Of course, the plan is for Brad to be the voice.”

As much as I love the characters of Tiffany (Tilly) and Nica (Fiona Dourif) and want to see them again, I’ll be excited to meet new characters. Tiffany and Nica were new to the franchise once and look how well they worked out.

Look for our full interview with Antosca before The Act premieres on March 20 on Hulu.

The maniacal, red-headed Chucky doll is slashing his way to the small screen, but what’s equally terrifying: So is Tiffany.

Jennifer Tilly is set to reprise her Child’s Play franchise role as Tiffany Valentine in Syfy’s upcoming series adaptation, our sister site Deadline reports. Chucky — which was ordered straight-to-series last year, with original voice actor Brad Dourif on board — will tell the story of an American town thrown into chaos after a vintage Chucky doll turns up at a suburban yard sale. No surprise here: “A series of horrifying murders” follows as “the arrival of enemies and allies from Chucky’s past threaten 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,” according to the official description.

Joining Tilly in a recurring role is Devon Sawa (Final Destination), whose specific character information is TBA.

The series has also named its four teenage leads: Zackary Arthur (Transparent), Teo Briones (Ratched), Alyvia Alyn Lind (Daybreak) and Björgvin Arnarson (The Seventh Day) all have joined Chucky as series regulars.

Tilly made her franchise debut in 1998’s Bride of Chucky, and appeared in the three sequels that followed: Seed of Chucky, Curse of Chucky and Cult of Chucky. Her recent TV credits include voice roles in JJ Villard’s Fairy Tales, SuperMansion and the upcoming Disney+ series Monsters at Work.

Don Mancini created Chucky and will serve as showrunner and executive producer. He wrote the original Child’s Play film and all six sequels, in addition to directing three of the films. Original film series producer David Kirschner also will serve as an EP.

EW can exclusively reveal that Alex Vincent and Christine Elise McCarthy will both appear on the upcoming USA and Syfy show Chucky.