One of the best surprises in television — and the horror genre specifically — to arrive on screens in 2021 was the new series Chucky. It was irreverent, gory, and, best of all, unapologetically queer. Bringing back familiar faces from the franchise, like Jennifer Tilly, Alex Vincent, and, of course, Brad Dourif the show introduces a new generation of the demonic doll’s victims, including Zackary Arthur, Bjorgvin Arnarson, and Alyvia Alyn Lind. The result is a perfect new and modern entry into Child’s Play franchise canon.
It was with great anticipation and delight that the series was picked up for a second season, this time following our heroes and beloved villains into a new setting: a catholic reform school.
After the first season proved to be a huge success, creator Don Mancini felt comfortable leaning in even further this time around, particularly when it came to queer inclusivity. “It was really gratifying that viewers seem to really love the Jake Devon relationship. And then also like the Tiffany, Nica, Chucky relationship, which is kind of a same-sex relationship, kind of complicated,” he tells PRIDE. “That was one of the most important things to me about the show, giving our young queer viewers some representation in the story and to see a sort of casually romantic gay teen romance happening in the midst of all this madness.”
It’s exactly the kind of representation that a younger Mancini would have loved, as evidenced by the way he pulls aspects of the story from his own life. “I wanted to go further with [the love story],” he says. “I wanted to stress their relationship in the Catholic school setting because that’s something that I experienced as a kid, as a gay teenager who was raised Catholic.”
Watch PRIDE’s full interview with Don Mancini below.
As if it weren’t hard enough to face off against an army of serial-killer-possessed dolls, Jake and Devon also have challenges in their dynamic. “Devin and Jake go through some relationship problems,” Arthur, who plays Jake, confirms to PRIDE. In fact, this season asks a lot of questions about whether or not they actually belong together. “I think one of the biggest things is that they were brought together by Chucky ... [and] we’re exploring, ‘OK, do these people really match, do these people really get along?’ Chucky brought them together, but do they really have anything in common?”
Arnarson, like his character Devon, has a more optimistic view of their love and future. While he agrees the two face problems this season, his take is that they need to stick together. “Work on [the problems] and fix them up. Because in the end, you’re going to end up needing [each other],” he tells PRIDE.
Watch PRIDE’s full interview with Zackary Arthur and Bjorgvin Arnarson below.
It’s not only Jake and Devon who are recocking with the past and trying to understand who they are following the events of season one. Lexy (Lind) finds herself on the other end of a bullying situation, after spending the entire first season evolving from being a bully herself. It’s another way in which the series offers representation to the young people in the audience. “We’ve seen Lexy literally be a bully — she definitely was in the beginning of season one and has overcome it with good people surrounding her, which is, I think, a great message because we really got to see what [she] was going through,” Lind tells PRIDE.
It’s also a theme that’s personally relatable to the actor who has been in the limelight practically their whole life. “Social media exists,” she states. “I’ve been homeschooled my whole life. But that doesn’t mean [I wasn’t] accessible, because everybody has an iPhone, and everybody can just send a comment in three seconds. So easy for it to ruin your day.” Lind hopes that her story throughout both seasons will offer the audiences an object lesson in why you don’t want to be a bully, but also how to deal with one. ”I also like that kids who are like Jake, who are being bullied, can see themselves in that character. So I hope that kids can feel seen. And that’s the most important thing in my book.”
Watch PRIDE’s full interview with Alyvia Alyn Lind and Bella Higginbotham below.
Therein lies the beauty of Chucky. Not only does it deliver the scares, gore, and laughter that fans of the franchise crave, but there’s a deeper, more resonant message lurking just below its bloody surface. Is it too soon to start manifesting season three?
Chucky is airing now on SyFy and USA.
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