It turns out viewers definitely still wanna play with Chucky. The Child’s Play franchise morphed onto TV screens for the first time this October, and it couldn’t have gone down better. After the 2019 reboot failed to spawn any sequels, creator Don Mancini returned to continue the original canon with this series, which also features Brad Dourif once again voicing the iconic killer doll.
And the fans were here for it. According to The Wrap, Chucky‘s first episode stands as one of the most-watched TV premieres for new series this year. When the figures for its dual airing on both Syfy and USA Network on October 12th are compiled, a total of 4.4 million viewers caught the series opener. Out of that sum, 2.1 million were in the 18-49 demographic. What’s more, the first episode has also performed well on YouTube, where it was made available for free on the two networks’ channels, and has clocked up more than 2.9 million views to date.
This means that NBC Universal cable channels Syfy and USA have the two biggest launches among new cable series this year, thanks to Chucky and Alan Tudyk sci-fi comedy/drama Resident Alien. This early success bodes well for the show’s longevity and maybe hints that we can expect a second season of Chucky following its eight-part debut run.
Chucky follows Zackary Arthur as 14-year-old shy kid Jake Wheeler whose life takes a chaotic and violent turn once he finds a seemingly innocent old Good Guy doll at a yard sale. Devon Sawa, Alyvia Alyn Lind, Lexa Doig and Barbara Alyn Woods are also in the cast. And, though they haven’t appeared yet, we can also expect several familiar faces from the franchise’s past to drop by before the end of the season – namely, Jennifer Tilly (Tiffany Valentine), Fiona Dourif (Nica Pierce), Alex Vincent (Andy Barclay) and Christine Elise (Kyle).
Chucky airs new episodes Tuesdays on Syfy and USA Network.
