While Jake brings his new prized possession home, a voiceover informs the viewer that Hackensack is “a haven for the fu–ed up, bizarre and criminally insane.” In other words, Chucky will fit right in.īut he’s not the only one in the opening minutes, several red flags about Jake pop up and turn him into a perfect pal for Chucky. Immediately captivated, Jake buys the doll, though the seller can’t remember who it belonged to or where it came from. In this case, Jake Wheeler, an eighth-grade boy who’s equipped with the typically tragic backstory of a drunk father, happens to find a Good Guys doll at a yard sale in Hackensack. Aside from some variations in the context, the premiere features an origin story fairly similar to the one Child’s Play fans know and love. As always, one can never judge a series’ prospects by the pilot, but the first outing of Chucky mostly follows the recipe established by the franchise, with one or two different flavors thrown into the mix.Īt best, Chucky is a tribute to the character’s glory days. After all, eight films in, the show is already facing an uphill battle to add anything substantive to the complex mythos previously established. While this dynamic is beneficial, Mancini’s presence alone doesn’t warrant a stamp of approval for the latest continuation of the franchise.

As a result, this adaptation automatically benefits from the feeling that it stays true to the character’s roots, at least behind the scenes. Whereas Don Mancini, the writer for every other film in the series, wasn’t involved in the 2019 Child’s Play reboot, he’s back at the helm for Chucky’s first venture into television. Diving into a franchise that has produced eight feature films certainly isn’t child’s play, but the latest adventure centered around everyone’s favorite homicidal doll has one thing going for it that its predecessor did not.

The act episode 1