After seven films and a 2019 remake, Chucky returned Tuesday, Oct. 12, to terrorize viewers for the Halloween season as a new TV series airing on SyFy and USA Network.  

The creator and executive producer, Don Mancini of Child’s Play, expanded the story of the horror icon Chucky that initially appeared in 1988 to a new teen drama set up. 

The first eight-episode season series cast includes classic actors such as Jennifer Tilly, Christine Elise, Alex Vincent, Fiona Dourif, and the titular voice character of Chucky, Brad Dourif.  

During a Television Critics Association panel interview, Mancini explained that the Chucky series would answer unanswered questions from previous films.  

“Exploring Charles Lee Ray’s origins has been something that the fans have wanted to see and have been asking for literally for decades now,” said Mancini. “And one of the reasons I was excited about taking the franchise into the medium of television was because having so much storytelling real estate, eight hours of Chucky, that provided such a great opportunity for exploring that stuff, among other stuff. But, yeah, so one of the things I was most excited about doing with the show was exploring Charles Lee Ray’s origin.” 

During the first episode titled “Death by Misadventure,” the plot followed middle-schooler Jake Wheeler (Zackary Arthur), a teenager struggling with bullying, his sexuality, and alcoholic father Luke (Devon Sawa), who lives in the small New Jersey town of Hackensack, the birthplace of Charles Lee Ray, whose soul inhabits the Good Guys doll.  

The arrival of characters from the past threatens to expose the truth behind the killings and the origins of Lee Ray, first known as a seemingly ordinary child who somehow became a serial killer.      

The Child’s Play franchise is one of the best known long-running franchises in horror, which is inspired by Robert the Doll from a Florida painter named Robert Eugene Otto.  

According to Ghost and Gravestones of East Martello Museum, Robert the Doll was given as a gift to Otto in 1903. The gift came from a servant woman who worked for his family. The woman was reportedly abused and thus used the art of voodoo to get her revenge.  

Robert the Doll is currently on display at the East Martello Museum in Key West and is claimed responsible for car crashes, disease, divorce, and even death. Visitors are supposed to ask Robert for his permission before they take any picture and then thank him afterward; otherwise, they can experience misfortunes.  

The area surrounding his display features letters from people begging Robert’s forgiveness for failure to follow the rules.  

Chucky series can be viewed in the United States each Tuesday at 10/9c through USA Network and Syfy. The series will premiere Wednesday, Oct. 27 through the Star Plus streaming platform for audiences in Latin America.   

Also, new episodes of “Chucky” will be streaming in the U.S. on Hulu with Live TV, FuboTV, YouTube TV, and Sling TV subscriptions.  

Eduardo A. Flores may be reached at [email protected]