Child's Play Creator Teases We Haven't Seen the Last of the Killer Doll After Chucky's Cancellation

Chucky came to a close after three seasons, fans learned last week.

By Russ Burlingame

"He'll be back!" Child's Play creator Don Mancini promised fans on social media, linking to an article referencing the cancellation of Chucky, the latest installment in the franchise. The series, which starred Brad Dourif, Jennifer Tilly, and Devon Sawa, ran on SYFY, USA Network, and Peacock from 2021 until May of this year. The cancellation was just announced, leaving fans disappointed and the cast and crew surprised. Mancini's confidence will probably ease the minds of at least some fans, whose show ended on a major cliffhanger.

Chucky had done fairly well in the ratings, and was a fan-favorite -- but it wasn't cheap, and while it was probably a benefit to spread the cost out between three networks, they were also spreading the audience thin that way.

Then, it was axed just hours before members of the cast appeared at a panel at Terror Con in Marlborough, MA.

"I have been on the phone with Don [Mancini, creator of Chucky]," Fiona Dourif said (via Bloody Disgusting). "It was a surprise that we got canceled. It was released last night. At this point, what we're hoping to do and what should be done and would be normal for a show as successful as Chucky's been – because the ratings were solidly good and reviewed extremely well; the numbers were great at Peacock – is that it would be marketed to other networks....The extent that there could be pressure on the powers that be to have that happen, I think that everybody who is involved in making the show would appreciate that. There's no reason on earth why it shouldn't be marketed to other networks."

Maybe the most surprising aspect of Chucky's success was its reviews. The series not only enjoyed rave reviews (far better than any one of the Child's Play movies on which the show is based), but those reviews actually got better as the show went on and Mancini's demented lore became more elaborate. In the first season, 89% of critics on Rotten Tomatoes gave the show a positive review. By season three, that had risen to 100%. 

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That trend actually continues one that's been enjoyed by Mancini's Chucky movies, which ran until 2017. In 2019, when the studio rebooted Child's Play, it seemed like the end of the road for the series' original continuity...but against all odds, Mancini, Brad Dourif, and company came back with Chucky. During the series' first 25 years or so, none of the Child's Play movies cracked the 75% "fresh" rating on Rotten Tomatoes despite their financial success. As the series went on, something interesting happened: while the audience got smaller, it got much more passionate, and the movies got increasingly strange and compelling, leading to 2013's Curse of Chucky to get 79% positive reviews, and 2017's Cult of Chucky to get 81%.

It's hard to know whether Mancini will find a new home for Chucky, or whether he will convince the studio to let him go back to doing movies. The 2019 reboot was a non-starter both critically and commercially, so it's not difficult to imagine the original "universe" returning to theaters if they can convince a studio they can build an audience based on Chucky's success. At this point, only time will tell, but it's likely a good sign that Mancini is so definitive in his prediction that the killer doll will return.

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