We are gathered here today in memory of our dearly departed. Joining his brothers and sisters in the great syndication run in the sky, alongside the likes of Blood Drive and Haven—the good who died young. We are here to mourn the renewal of the SyFy original series Chucky. But more importantly, we’re here to ask: so how is this even going to work?
As most of you have already seen on social media in the past week, SyFy has not picked Chucky up for a fourth season. The show had been in renewal limbo for long enough that it felt like the writing was on the wall. This didn’t temper our disappointment when the word officially broke from Chucky mastermind Don Mancini himself on Twitter on September 27th, confirming an article published in Deadline three hours prior.
Despite everyone (including myself in another article on Horror Press) demanding the shows continuation, and despite the hashtag #RenewChucky seeing thousands of devoted fans storm social media to go to bat for the killer doll, SyFy has left the show behind. Since then the fandom has pivoted to a #SaveChucky movement, which is carrying the same speed and fervor as its predecessor.
While some shows have been brought back from the brink of cancellation, the extended bout to renew the show makes it seem unlikely we’ll be getting that fourth season (or a teased episode helmed by Joe Lynch) now.
Which puts the future of the franchise in an awkward place.
CAN A NEW CHUCKY MOVIE FIX THINGS?
Assuming Chucky’s rights aren’t entangled too deeply in SyFy’s affairs, and that the series can continue independent of them, the road forward might suggest a Chucky film in the future that carries on from the point we left things off at. But balancing a film like that seems like more of a nightmare than any of the murderous dolls we’ve seen so far.
While the show may have begun with Jake’s fateful finding of Chucky at a yard sale, the series has thus far relied on an ensemble cast to drive much of its plot. Between Jake, Devon, Lexy, Caroline, Nica, and of course, Chucky & Tiffany, the number of plotlines and character arcs left to close up are far from easy to juggle from a writing standpoint. And even if hypothetical endings were plotted out for each character cleanly, as suggested by Mancini’s petitioning for a fourth season, bringing them all to a satisfying conclusion is nearly impossible in any shorter format.
THE FORK IN THE CHILD’S PLAY FRANCHISE ROAD
So, that leaves only two feasible options if the Chucky team moves forward with a film. The first is to pick up directly where things left off in a film and pull off the miracle of wrapping up a season’s worth of television in under two and a half hours. While I have faith Don Mancini has at the very least a dozen more great Chucky movies in him, continuing from Season 3’s sort of bummer ending wouldn’t only be difficult, it would really alienate anybody who hasn’t kept up with the previous 24-episode saga.
Imagine having to satisfyingly explain how the last season ended with Chucky going to the afterlife, meeting Damballa, coming back as a White House ghost, and eventually luring all of the protagonists to be trapped in dolls…in under 2 hours.
There would then be option two: ignore all the other characters in the Chucky series, or ignore Chucky outright, and pickup with the deranged killer couples’ newly renewed spree. Maybe you could lower the scope down to a select few characters, with Nica, Andy, and Kyle leading the hunt this time as they try to figure out a way to save the Hackensack Trio from eternity as marionettes. But I feel like that would then only serve to alienate fans who have pleaded for months to save the show and have grown incredibly attached to the Hackensack trio.
WHO COULD #SAVECHUCKY?
In an ideal world, Chucky would see an eleventh-hour hail mary from a television network footing the bill on production and letting it live to fight another day. The likelihood of this isn’t so fantastic, as many fans will remember the reason for its unique simultaneous release on SyFy and USA Network, which resulted from a split between the networks to fund the show. So that leaves mostly streaming services. Then who could #SaveChucky?
Shudder seems like the obvious answer thanks to its horror slant, fueling shows like The Boulet Brothers’ Dragula and the upcoming The Creep Tapes. With AMC having regained stability compared to previous years, which saw layoffs and a significant drop in Shudder staff, I would say it certainly holds water theoretically.
Peacock’s previous connection with Chucky, however, leads me to believe they’re the more likely option. Despite its streaming platform seeing an abundance of technical issues, NBC’s Peacock has been a leader for the past few years alongside Amazon and Hulu when it comes to pumping out new original programming. A steady flow of new miniseries and runs at prestige television makes me believe that money-wise, they’re the network to keep an eye on, and the ones I’d bet have the highest chances of giving the series a second wind.
This all may seem like wishful thinking, but I see it as cautious optimism. Don Mancini is still at the helm, all of the cast have shared their full-throated support for renewal, and certainly, stranger things have happened in the TV landscape than a show finding a new home.
So however the future of the Chucky franchise comes to pass, I have a strong feeling the journey there won’t disappoint.
What’s your current theory on the future of the Chucky franchise? Would you want another season, or a new film? Let us know on Twitter and Instagram @HorrorPressLLC! And for more articles on everything horror in movies, television, and more, stay tuned to Horror Press!