In the unfortunate age of TV show cancellations, we’re left to mourn successful shows that deserved another season to tie up loose ends properly. It’s very disappointing that the Chucky TV show has been added to the canceled shows list, much to the surprise of many because people were looking forward to seeing what was going to happen next after the season 3 finale.
The Child’s Play franchise, created by the talented Don Mancini, has existed since the ’80s, and there’s something incredibly impressive about that. For a horror franchise to have longevity and maintain a steady fanbase that can appreciate almost every film is quite the feat. In terms of film and television, the Child’s Play franchise has eight films (if you count the forgettable remake) and the canonical Syfy series Chucky, which aired from 2021-2024. Three seasons is great, but a fourth would have been better, right?
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If you’re late to the party and don’t know the general plot for Chucky, then I can provide that for you. The series follows Jake Wheeler (Zackary Arthur), his boyfriend Devon Evans (Bjorgvin Arnarson), and their best friend Lexy Cross (Alyvia Alyn Lind) as they deal with Chucky (voiced by Brad Dourif), who is back to his murderous ways. Legacy characters such as Andy (Alex Vincent), Tiffany Valentine (Jennifer Tilly), Nica (Fiona Dourif), and more also have prominent roles throughout the seasons.
The Chucky series not only brought the Child’s Play franchise back to life, but it also proved that camp and meta are still appreciated in horror. The last time there was an attempt to revise the franchise, it came in the form of the reboot, Child’s Play (2019). A film that Mancini wasn’t attached to, and it lacked the soul of the previous entries. The campy tonal shift that came with Bride of Chucky ushered the franchise into a different era. From there, we got the lesser-appreciated Seed of Chucky, the gothic delight of Curse of Chucky, and the psychiatric hospital set Cult of Chucky.
Watching the show week to week and seeing what level of camp an episode would be on was exciting. Not to mention following unapologetically queer characters, new and returning, on their own respective journeys. The third and final season (unless by the grace of the television gods) was drunk on camp. It took big leaps with its characters and storyline involving the fictional President of the United States (yes, you read that right). It might not be the strongest season due to it dragging in some spots, but it was fun for people to indulge in. Who wouldn’t want to watch Chucky kill people in the White House?
In a short amount of time, Chucky became a favorite horror TV show for fans for its boldness, queer representation, commitment to maintaining the dark humor and camp of the franchise, and delightfully gory effects. Thus, finding out that Syfy decided to cancel the show is a head-scratcher. All hope isn’t lost for a continuation by way of a new film, at the very least. And maybe the fans being loud enough will make a change somehow. It would be nice to see our beloved characters back in episodic format.
As a personal fan of the Child’s Play franchise as well as Don Mancini as a queer creative, I’ll take either. It’s not every day that main characters are allowed to be explicitly queer. When we, as queer fans, are allowed a range of representation in horror property, it’s incredibly special and comforting. With Chucky, I and other queer fans were able to witness stories that touched us personally, such as Jake embracing his queerness and finding love with Devon in spite of his homophobic bio family. Even the continued story involving Glen (Lachlan Watson) and Glenda (also played by Lachlan Watson) offers something to genderfluid fans.
As someone who is a champion of queer stories in horror, it’s wonderful to not have to sift through subtext in something I’m watching. And that’s part of why the show has cemented its place in horror/pop culture alongside the films. That, along with the number of f-bombs allowed by the network, is because it’s not Chucky without a lot of cussing.
The fact of the matter is that the Child’s Play franchise isn’t afraid to go to weird, campy, sentimental, bloody, and batshit (in the best way) places. And if that’s not brilliantly special, then I don’t know what is. Overall, as someone who loves to celebrate queerness, gory insanity, possessed dolls that cuss like the best of them, and so on, I know that I’ll always have an appreciation for the Chucky series. Even if we never see Chucky or other characters in a television format again. We’ll always have Hackensack, right?
Chucky Seasons 1-3 are now streaming on Peacock, Shudder, and AMC+.
