It's no joke. Chucky is officially off and running. And, most likely, killing. Syfy and franchise creator Don Mancini have announced that the upcoming Child's Play TV show has kicked off production. Filming is now underway on the series, which will take place in the same universe as the long-running horror franchise. Plus, the network has revealed that the show will hit the airwaves this fall, bringing the slasher icon to the small screen for the first time.

The show has been in the works for some time now. It will air on both Syfy and USA Network. It will pick up after the events of 2017's Cult of Chucky. It will not have anything to do with the Child's Play movie reboot that was released by MGM in 2019. Because the rights were split up at one point, there are essentially two competing versions of the franchise going right now. Don Mancini, taking to Twitter, announced that filming has begun. Here's what he had to say.

"This is no April Fools' joke. #Chucky the series is officially in production and coming to USA Network and Syfy this fall. If you can't wait that long...catch the Chucky movie marathon airing all day today on Syfy!"

Aside from Brad Dourif, who returns to once again voice the killer doll, the cast includes Zackary Arthur (Transparent), Teo Briones (Ratched), Alyvia Alyn Lind (Daybreak), Bjorgvin Arnarson (The Seventh Day) and Devon Sawa (Final Destination). Additionally, Jennifer Tilly will return as Tiffany Valentine, having appeared in several of the previous movies. Plus, Fiona Dourif will reprise her role as Nica Pierce. Nica was at the center of the two most recent entries in the franchise, Curse of Chucky and Cult of Chucky.

Chucky takes place in a small, seemingly idyllic American town that is thrown into utter chaos when a doll shows up at a local yard sale. Once people start turning up murdered, the town's dirty secrets and hypocrisies come to light. It has also been promised that the show will dive into the title character's untold origin story. We got a small glimpse at Charles Lee Ray's life as a human killer before his soul was transferred into the iconic doll at the beginning of the original Child's Play. But, for the most part, his origin story hasn't been explored in the movies. The series will finally pull back the curtain.

The franchise kicked off in 1988 with Child's Play, which was written by Don Mancini. A series of sequels followed. To date, counting the 2019 reboot, a total of eight movies have been produced. The movies have earned more than $217 million at the global box office. Both Curse of Chucky and Cult of Chucky, however, were released direct-to-video. Don Mancini is producing alongside David Kirschner, Harley Peyton, Nick Antosca and Alex Hedlund. Mancini is, additionally, directing the first episode. Chucky does not yet have a firm premiere date set. We'll be sure to keep you posted as any further details are made available. This news comes to us via Syfy Wire.