Though he has one of the least intimidating statures of any horror movie monster in the genre's history, Chucky remains a hellacious force to be reckoned with. The evil doll is primed to be as popular as ever, too, as evidenced by the two different projects currently in development. News has been sporadic on the film remake front, but franchise creator Don Mancini's Chucky TV project just took a big step forward anyway, with Syfy stepping in and securing the rights for development.
At this point on the project's road to becoming a reality, the details behind Chucky's potential small screen debut are somewhat limited. Syfy is only signed on to develop the main pitch at this point, so it's not heading to series yet, and not even a pilot has been ordered. But we all know what the deal is with this narrative, and it doesn't sound like Don Mancini will be rocking the plot-driven boat.
According to Deadline, this Child's Play offshoot series will be centered on the Good Guys doll that struck fear in children and adults everywhere throughout the late 1980s and early 1990s. (And beyond.) In case anyone though that the TV show would be flipping things around with Chucky's origin story like the movie seems to be doing, it's reported that he'll still be a red-haired, freckle-specked toy brought to life by the evil spirit of serial killer Charles Lee Ray.
Now that Syfy is involved, Chucky's creative team can be officially locked down. Don Mancini will be the main thrust behind the scenes as the head writer. (No showrunner duties were reported just yet.) Mancini will be reteaming with the film franchise producer David Kirschner, who has been part of Chucky's history since the very first film in 1988. As well, Mancini is bringing along his previous colleague and Channel Zero creator Nick Antosca.
News first spread about a Chucky TV series in 2018, when Don Mancini make the project's potential existence known. Later that year, things got more official when Chucky voice actor Brad Dourif was confirmed to be reprising the iconic role for the episodic series. Not much progress has happened since, at least not publicly. But behind the scenes, it appears agreements were being made. (Hopefully without anyone's souls trading places.)
NBCU Cable Entertainment's President of Scripted Content Bill McGoldrick sounds like he and everyone else at the company are ready to get their hands dirty with Chucky. In his words:
It’s very rare that you get the opportunity to bring such an iconic character to your network, let alone with the original creator attached. We look forward to working with Don, David and Nick on putting their blood, sweat, and more blood into bringing the Chucky story to television.
Now if only this Chucky series could be the way that fans get a backdoor pilot for a Nightmare on Elm Street TV show. Don Mancini has ideas about how to bring these ghastly murderers together, so it's not the MOST far-off idea. It'd be far less likely for Mancini to say anything positive about the upcoming film reboot.
While waiting to hear more facts about Chucky's more-than-pint-sized future on Syfy, don't forget about all the other great shows heading to the 2019 midseason schedule.
