Another 2023-24 season genre entry has been cancelled as the horror series Chucky will not continue to a fourth season on Syfy and the USA Network. That show premiered back in 2021 and proved a hit at first in its time-sharing run on the two cable channels. But its viewership numbers have gone down each season, dropping to a series low in the second half of its third year which aired in Spring 2024, and I had moved it to Bubble status a while back. It is a relatively expensive series to produce for a basic cable entry, thus the reason the costs were shared across the two networks. Series creator Don Mancini (who also created the movie franchise) had pitched a fourth season, but the NBCUniversal cable nets are moving away from higher-cost scripted shows in the post-Peak TV era, as fewer viewers are tuning into the linear cable channels. Mancini had the following to say about the cancellation:
I’m heartbroken over the news that Chucky won’t be coming back for a fourth season but am so grateful for the killer three years we did have. I’d like to thank UCP/Syfy/Peacock/Eat the Cat, our awesome cast and Toronto-based crew — the best in the business — and finally, to our amazing fans, a big bloody hug. Your incredible #RenewChucky campaign really warmed Chucky’s cold heart. Chucky will return! He ALWAYS comes back.
Those words will certainly encourage fans to continue with their campaign to save the show, but since NBCUniversal has a stake in the property, it seems unlikely that it would move to a different venue. If the fans make enough noise, perhaps the network execs will consider bringing it back for a (likely shortened) fourth season. But it seems much more likely that the franchise will continue with movies, and perhaps one or more of those could run exclusively on Peacock.
This is now the sixth cancellation in a row of a 2023-24 season show with no renewals announced in a while. That brings the Cancellation/Renewal Score to 29 cancelled and ending sci fi and fantasy entries (37% of shows tracked) vs. 36 renewed (46%). You can see the breakdown of the numbers and the full list of shows for the current and prior seasons on our Cancellation Watch Page.
Chucky follows the continuing story of the titular killer doll as he crosses paths with archenemies, old allies, and new prey. It stars Zackary Arthur, Björgvin Arnarson, Alyvia Alyn Lind, Teo Briones, and Brad Dourif and it is based on the Child’s Play film franchise.
We are now two months into the 2024-25 season, but there are still more shows from the prior year waiting for word on their fates, and I expect more announcements to come over the next month or so. You can see the status of all this season’s shows at this link. And be sure to follow this site as well as our Twitter and Mastodon accounts for updates and breaking news.
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