Syfy and USA Cancel 'Chucky' After 3 Seasons; Creator Dom Mancini Vows Franchise Continuation
Good luck Chuck, onto the next chapter for the 35+-year horror franchise. HE’LL BE BACK
This is the end for now, friends. In the midst of a shift of vision for original programming on both networks, Chucky has been canceled at Syfy and USA Network after three eight-episode seasons. Premiering in 2021, that last season aired in two parts, the first four last October and the second from April to May this year.
The series was the television continuation of the Child’s Play franchise that began in 1988 and follows the 2017 installment Cult of Chucky. It’s all been steered from the very beginning by creator Dom Mancini, who wrote all seven films and moved into directing with 2004’s Seed of Chucky. In his statement, Mancini mourned this end but promised that the franchise, if not this series, would come back in some way, saying “I’m heartbroken over the news that Chucky won’t be coming back for a fourth season but am so grateful for the killer three years we did have,” he said. “I’d like to thank UCP/Syfy/Peacock/Eat the Cat, our awesome cast and Toronto-based crew — the best in the business — and finally, to our amazing fans, a big bloody hug. Your incredible #RenewChucky campaign really warmed Chucky’s cold heart. Chucky will return! He ALWAYS comes back.” In April he revealed he had pitched a fourth season, “it’s something I really like to do.” His enthusiasm helped spur the #RenewChucky fan campaign, which has been rallying support for a fourth season, and will likely be made more fervent by this news, on top of the expressed appreciation. According to sources, an abbreviated final season or even a wrap up film was being discussed, but did not amount to anything.
The season 3 finale saw Tiffany (still as Jennifer Tilly) escape her execution with voodoo. Chucky (played primarily by Brad Dourif but also daughter Fiona depending on the age) possesses Jake, played by Zackary Arthur, in the spirit realm where various stages of himself appear leading Jake to believe his good side which obviously doesn’t exist would sacrifice himself. Devon, played by Björgvin Arnarson wakes possessed Jake up as the White House, the season’s centerpiece, has become a magnet for the dead, is blown up and set ablaze with a bomb. Jake/Chucky brings Devon and Lexy to his grandfather Wendell Wilkins’ home. Wilkins, played by John Waters, yes the same famed director that previously cameoed in Seed, reveals that he created the Good Guy dolls. After Chucky’s initial murders, he was ruined professionally, financially and psychologically, but is still in possession of the original Good Guy prototype. Caroline (Carina London Battrick), Chucky’s apprentice, is there wielding a knife, evidently consumed by the dark side. She recognizes immediately that Jake is, in fact, Chucky, who does want to return to a doll body. He succeeds with Caroline and Wilkins’s help. Tiffany arrives, Chucky proposes, much to her delight. Wilkins shows her he still has her prototype too, even though her form is not a Good Guy-related doll. Nica Pierce (also played by Fiona Dourif) arrives at the mansion to find Jake, Lexy and Devon all been turned into dolls, and Wilkins with a gun, and we’re left hearing her terrified scream.
Tilly, the younger Dourif, and multi-character cast member Devon Sawa all had reactions to the show’s cancellation, starting with her saying “So sad to announce that after three wonderful seasons the television series “Chucky” has finally been canceled. First I’d like to think (sic) our fans, who managed to keep the #RenewChucky hashtag trending for MONTHS! Without your loyalty and tenacity Chucky would never have endured for thirty years! We’re really proud of our show. It has been a wonderful miracle working with this talented cast and crew. We were very lucky to have the leadership of our brilliant captain Don Mancini. But (to quote Call of Duty) we are “down but not out”. Resurrections are Chucky’s specialties and he has many of them! 😜” After plugging the show’s presence on Peacock, she lamented the cancellation’s timing ahead of spooky season with “Kinda twisting the knife to cancel #Chucky so close to Halloween. That’s like canceling Santa at Christmas.”
Dourif wrote “This job was a dream, and I am grateful for every minute of it. *we take a tiny red bow* 🙏” while Sawa is absolutely spirited and confident, knowing just as well this only closes a chapter “CHUCKY NEVER ENDS!!… He just respawns. I’ve said it once and I’ll say it again, this series was some of the most fun I’ve ever had shooting. I’m sad, but excited to see where it goes. RIP — “The Series”.
Chucky was the last higher-end, Universal Content Productions-produced original scripted series on Syfy as they, in the current cable landscape, pivot toward Canadian co-productions like SurrealEstate and the upcoming Revival, and modestly budgeted independent productions, like Electric Entertainment’s The Ark, for their originals. They also canceled Reginald the Vampire earlier this year and offloaded Reaident Alien to USA, who is in the midst of returning to budget-conscious “Blue Sky” procedurals harkening back to the network’s heyday of hits like Monk, Psych, Suits and White Collar after having been otherwise completely out of the scripted originals game for most of Chucky’s life. Their first series bringing them back is a John Grisham adaptation The Rainmaker, which has been very busy with casting the past several weeks which I hope to cover soon. Chucky may not fit either brand anymore, but I too trust he'll be back.
Sources: Deadline, TVLine, Jennifer Tilly (1, 2), Fiona Dourif, Devon Sawa