Warning: This post contains spoilers for Chucky season 1, episode 1.
The first episode of Chucky sees Jake Wheeler called by a blast from Child’s Play‘s past—here’s who it is and what it means for the future of the new series. Played by Zackary Arthur, Jake comes across the infamous Good Guy doll while trawling yard sales in service of his new art project. Unfortunately, with the soul of the Lakeshore Strangler Charles Lee Ray still inhabiting the doll, Jake’s life is turned upside down as Chucky gleefully pursues his own murderous form of creativity.
Prior to Chucky’s latest killing spree, Jake tries to sell the vintage toy online and discovers that it’s potentially worth thousands. Rapidly gaining interest from avid collectors and aficionados of the sinister, he receives a direct message that soon turns into a phone call. The exchange is ominous and brief but proves to be a fateful one, putting Jake on the path to discovering that Chucky is alive. The caller’s name is never given or revealed but based on what is said and the general tone, the figure ties the Chucky TV show to the ending of the 2017 Cult of Chucky movie, as well as the wider Child’s Play franchise.
Clearly male and sharing a distinctly similar voice, the caller has to be none other than Andy Barclay. Portrayed by Alex Vincent in the original Child’s Play, longtime fans will recognize Andy as Chucky’s original victim and survivor. First targeted when he was only six years old, Andy was later pursued in Child’s Play 2, with actor Justin Whalin taking over the role in Child’s Play 3. Lending further credence to the idea of Andy’s involvement is the sheer amount of knowledge possessed by the mysterious caller. That includes knowing to check Chucky’s batteries—a direct callback to the first Child’s Play, in which Andy’s mother Karen (Catherine Hicks) learns about the nightmarish doll in the same way. Equally, the caller’s aim to warn Jake lines up with what eventually became of Andy Barclay in the Child’s Play horror movie franchise.
As the post-credits scene for the 2013 reboot Curse of Chucky reveals, neither the titular doll nor Andy ever really forgot each other. When Chucky ultimately seeks him out to definitively close their united chapter, Andy proves himself prepared and shoots the possessed doll in the head with a shotgun. After learning that Chucky now occupies more than one body, however, Cult of Chucky further positions Andy as his arch-nemesis. Though Andy ends up outwitted and trapped in a mental health facility, the subsequent four-year time jump is more than enough time for him to have secured his release. Equally, it makes sense that Andy would monitor the web for emerging traces of Chucky’s various movie forms, and reach out to affected parties when they did.
It’s also already been confirmed that Alex Vincent will reprise the role of Andy Barclay in the Chucky TV show. He’s set to be joined by other such familiar faces as Jennifer Tilly’s Tiffany Valentine, Fiona Dourif’s Chucky-possessed Nica Pierce, and Christine Elise McCarthy as Andy’s foster sister Kyle. Though none of them make an appearance in Chucky season 1, episode 1, “Death by Misadventure,” Andy’s vocal cameo sets the stage for their eventual arrivals. Based on the trailer, Andy and Kyle will have taken their quest to destroy all versions of Chucky to new levels—adopting an X-Files Mulder and Scully vibe as they no doubt traverse the United States in search of targets. And, though Andy was seemingly diverted by a mysterious something, both he and Kyle now know to make their way to Hackensack, New Jersey over the course of the seven remaining Chucky episodes.
