Chucky TV Series in Development at SYFY

Chucky is coming to TV after all, and SYFY is the network inviting the iconic doll over for a play date.

On Tuesday morning, it was announced that SYFY had acquired the series development rights to Chucky and the Child’s Play franchise. SYFY’s series, if it moves into production, will be written and executive produced by Don Mancini, who wrote the original Child’s Play movie franchise.

“I’ve long wanted to bring Chucky to television and SYFY is the perfect network for us,” Mancini said. “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.”

In addition to Mancini, David Kirschner and Nick Antosca will serve as executive producers, with Antosca producing under his Eat the Cat production banner. Antosca already has a relationship with SYFY having created and produced Channel Zero, which was recently cancelled after airing on the network for four seasons.

Mancini being on board is a big deal for fans of the Child’s Play franchise. He has written all seven films in the series, three of which he also directed, so his involvement is crucial. There is a feature film reboot of Child’s Play set to hit theaters this summer, but Mancini and the original creative team are not involved. He has long said that he would rather move the franchise to television rather than reboot the films, and the new deal with SYFY accomplishes just that.

Along with the Chucky series, SYFY has also ordered pilots for shows Cipher and (Future) Cult Classic. The first of these two is about a 13-year-old video game player who accidentally gets implanted with secret military technology, and it comes from Danny McBride and David Gordon Green, the team behind the recent Halloween sequel. (Future) Cult Classic is a dark comedy set in the future based on a group of teenagers who are being attacked by a 1990s slasher villain.