Everyone’s favorite killer doll is back for a third season in the TV adaptation of the Don Mancini created Chucky franchise. The series, which first premiered in 2021, follows Chucky (voiced by Brad Dourif) returning to Hackensack, New Jersey to bring a fresh reign of torment to a new generation while tying in lore from across the franchise.
The third season will be in two parts and the start of new episodes began Wednesday, October 4 on SYFY and USA. In the “Murder at 1600” premiere episode, viewers first meet Henry Collins (Callum Vinson), the youngest son of President James Collins (Devon Sawa), who insists his family is going to die while addressing his fears to his mother, First Lady Charlotte Collins (Lara Jean Chorostecki). If Chorostecki looks familiar it’s because she played Sister Ruth in season 2 of Chucky, and of course Sawa is playing yet another character after being killed off three times.
Now under the moniker of Joesph, a name significant to The First Family, Chucky has weaseled his way into D.C. with a new mission that is not known during the premiere or how he ended up in The Nation’s Capital in the first place. Jackson Kelly is a new actor this season playing Grant Collins, the oldest and nonchalant son of the president. In the opening moments of the show, chaos ensues but the pacing is slow and lasts throughout the entire episode.
Annie Briggs returns as Miss Fairchild taking on the role of caregiver to orphans Jake (Zackary Arthur), Devon (Bjorgvin Arnarson), and Lexy (Alyvia Alyn Lind) as they are trying to move past their trauma, but locate Lexy’s missing sister Caroline (Carina Battrick) who was last seen with Tiffany (Jennifer Tilly) during the final moments of season two.
Jake, Devon, and Lexy are clearly fan favorites since we’ve been able to spend more time with them. We only got a glimpse into what their life has been like without Chucky in the premiere episode, and a phone call towards the end shows the trio is about to go up against their nemesis again and try to end Chucky once and for all. Although, I hope not because I want this series to continue for more seasons.
Out of all the new characters introduced so far, Henry, played by Callum Vinson, is the most standout. The young child can boldly shut down a bullying one instance and then fearfully question the safety of his family combing the presence of warrior and innocence of a child. His relationship with Joseph aka Chucky seems to be the one to watch. It is implied that Henry has some inkling that Chucky isn’t a regular doll, but to what extent will be further explored in later episodes.
Season three production designer John Dondertman did an incredible job recreating The Oval Office and scope of The White House in general. It’s a stunning set to view on screen and ups the production value of the show. Brad Dourif’s voice work as Chucky is one of the key reasons why this character works so well and gets more profound with every new iteration. He’s briefly heard in the season three premiere, but we’ll get much more of him later.
While it’s exciting that Chucky has returned for a new season, the premiere was a bit dry. There’s no strong attachment to the new characters yet and there wasn’t enough screentime for the ones we already know. This first part of the series is slated to only have four episodes with the rest of the season coming in 2024, so the upcoming episodes really need to pick up the pace, and gore, to keep interest for the show high.
New episodes of Chucky air 9/8 c on USA and SYFY and streaming the next day on Peacock.
_