'Child's Play' TV Show 'Chucky' Officially Coming to Syfy

A series based on the Child's Play franchise, famous for the killer doll Chucky, is in the works at SyFy. The NBCUniversal-owned cable network announced on Saturday during the Television Critics Association winter press tour it has handed out a straight-to-series order for Chucky. The network announced last year that it acquired the television rights to the films.

The new series was created by Don Mancini, who created the character of Chucky, reports Variety. Mancini is also working as showrunner and executive producer, and will direct the first episode. David Kirschner, Eat the Cat's Nick Ancosta (Channel Zero) and Harley Peyon are also executive producers. Universal Content Productions, which Ancosta has an overall deal with, is the studio behind the project.

"The character Don and David created has terrified audiences for over 30 years," Chris McCumber, president of Entertainment Networks USA & Syfy for NBCUniversal. said in a statement. "The longevity and legacy of Chucky speaks to the creative storytelling and the loyal fans the film series has collected over the years. We are excited to once again partner with Nick and UCP on this new Syfy series, and are incredibly proud to bring Chucky to television for the first time with the original creators."

"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," Mancini said in a statement last year, reports IndieWire.

The series starts with a vintage Chucky doll showing up at a yard sale in an idyllic American town, which is suddenly terrorized by a series of horrifying murders. Enemies and allies from Chucky's past also show up, and the truth could be exposed. The demon doll's origins will also be explored.

The franchise kicked off with Child's Play, written by Mancini with Tom Holland and produced by Kirschner, in 1988. Six sequels, all written by Mancini and produced by Krischner, followed between 1990 and 2017. In 2019, United Artists Releasing and Orion Pictures released a remake of Child's Play, which grossed $44.9 million worldwide.

Brad Dourif voiced Chucky in the first seven films, but was replaced by Mark Hamill for the 2019 remake. Mancini was also not involved in the 2019 Child's Play, which was written by Tyler Burton Smith and directed by Lars Klevberg.

Photo credit: United Artists/Getty Images