CHUCKY TV Series In Development at SYFY

While a Child's Play remake is slated to come out this June, the original Good Guys doll with a murderous streak is heading to the small screen, with a Chucky TV series in the works at SYFY.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, SYFY won a "multiple-network bidding war" to get the rights to develop a series based on the iconic horror villain who first appeared in 1988's Child's Play as a Good Guys doll with the soul of a recently killed serial killer, Charles Lee Ray (Brad Dourif). Voiced by Dourif in all seven Chucky movies, this will be the first time the killer doll has stalked the small screen in a potential TV series.

Don Mancini, a writer on all seven Chucky movies and director of four of the films, will write the script for the in-the-works Chucky TV series and executive produce alongside David Kirschner and Nick Antosca via his newly launched production company, Eat the Cat. The executive producer of Channel Zero (which was recently cancelled at SYFY, but could find a new home), Antosca has worked with Mancini on the creepypasta-based anthology series and NBC's Hannibal. The potential Chucky series will be produced at Universal Cable Productions, where Antosca has a deal in place to develop new content.

Here's what Mancini had to say about the Chucky series (via THR):

"I've long wanted to bring Chucky to television and Syfy is the perfect network for us. 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."

Sharing Mancini's excitement, here's what Antosca said about the project (via THR):

"I worked with Don on Hannibal and on Channel Zero for Syfy, so developing Chucky with UCP really feels like coming home. Syfy is the perfect place to tell the next chapter in the Chucky saga and having the original creative team lead the project will help elevate the story we are excited to tell."

Official casting and plot details have not been announced at this time, but last year, Mancini told Bloody Disgusting that the TV series was "deliberately set up" at the conclusion of the latest film in the franchise, Cult of Chucky, and that the tone of the show is going to be "darker than ever before."

In that conversation, Mancini also told Bloody Disgusting that Brad Dourif will reprise his role as the voice of Chucky, and Kirschner confirmed to the site that the series is expected to be a continuation of the franchise rather than a reboot.

We'll be sure to keep Daily Dead readers updated as more news on the Chucky series is revealed.