'Chucky' Producer Alex Hedlund Talks 'Shocking' Season 3 Deaths, Teases 'Darker' 2024 Return (Exclusive)
The 'Chucky' Season 3 mid-season finale airs this Wednesday.
Chucky Season 3 has pulled literally zero punches when it comes to brutal and surprising deaths, but if we're being honest, as fans, would we really want it to? From the very first few episodes of the show's debut season, it was clear that no one would be safe from our favorite homicidal movie doll, and that has remained true into the new episodes. Recently, PopCulture.com had a chance to catch up with Chucky executive producer Alex Hedlund to talk about the show, including one of the most "shocking" deaths we witnessed earlier this season, as well as what's on the horizon for the series. Please note: This interview contains Chucky Season 3 spoilers.
Just a few episodes back, we were forced to watch Jake (Zackary Arthur), Devon (Björgvin Arnarson), and Lexy (Alyvia Alyn Lind) lose Ms. Fairchild, played by actress Annie M. Briggs. Ms. Fairchild had been the kids' biology teacher and was previously framed for Chucky's murders, but after they all lost their families over the course of the show's first two seasons, she became their guardian. Not content on leaving well enough alone, Chucky found a way to get to Ms. Fairchild and suffocated her to death with an American flag — which Hedlund clarifies was not a real American flag, but a prop.
"Being on set and seeing Annie, the actress who plays Ms. Fairchild, interact with the other actors and what was happening, you can feel it that, this is a beloved character, that people are going to have hard feelings with how she goes out," Hedlund said, reflecting on what he anticipated while filming the new season. "Annie is so sweet. She was five months pregnant when we were shooting these episodes, so we were kind of trying to hide that fact." He then praised her as a "great actress, obviously," and added that she was also "a great sport for letting us smother her with an American flag or a prop American flag... I have to say that for legal reasons."
Hedlund continued, "I think it's a couple of things. If anybody has misgivings or is feeling hurt by that shocking death... I think it's a compliment. I think it's a compliment to Don [Mancini, Chucky creator] and the writers that you actually give a s— about one of these characters where, in a horror show... horrific things happen and you grow emotionally connected to these characters and you want to feel that there's some stakes involved, because if everything is a little too safe, then there's no tension there."
Noting the importance that a shocking death has on character development, Hedlund explained, "Yes, it's a beloved character and she's been with everybody since the start and the very first episode with Jake. But again, it's meant to not just be shock for shock value. The whole idea was it's going to galvanize our three amigos for what comes next and really further motivate them to take out Chucky."
He went on to add that it's not always best for the audience to simply feel "that was a cool gory death," and then compared Ms. Fairchild's death to another brutal murder in the same episode. "Poor Samantha the secretary is beheaded. You don't have the same, I mean, it's a fantastic death, but there's just not the same level of... you're not really tethered to that character as much. We want to have those moments of Chucky mischief and the gore as well. I think that people are always surprised by just how emotionally connected they are to these characters in this series. All the credit goes to Don and the writers for building that out beautifully."
Finally, Hedlund praised the creative team and cast for their hard work that makes the show "really intriguing... from a horror concept because you're always trying to figure out how to sustain that level of tension over multiple episodes or storylines, and I think that the slow burn that Don and the writers have created this season has just been so carefully woven together."
Teasing the next half of Season 3, which they hope to have out in 2024, Hedlund added, "I know that people are going to have to wait for the back half. We're hoping to shoot that as soon as the actor strike resolves, but I'll just put it out there... It gets darker, it gets twister, it gets more f—ed up in the best way possible." The Chucky mid-season finale airs this Wednesday, October 25, on SyFy, and will be available to stream the following day on Peacock.
0comments