When it comes to late-night legends, Johnny Carson, Conan O’Brien, Arsenio Hall, and David Letterman are among the hosts who come to mind. But nobody knows how to throw a killer show like Chucky.
Yes, that Chucky. The beloved horror movie villain, who first appeared in the 1988 cult classic flick Child’s Play, now has his very own late-night show at Universal Studio Hollywood’s Halloween Horror Nights. The new live talk show attraction, aptly titled Late Night with Chucky, kicked off on August 30.
LateNighter visited Universal Studios Hollywood earlier this month to check out a showing of Late Night with Chucky for ourselves (fortunately, we survived the experience).
Late Night with Chucky takes place in the DreamWorks Theatre lot, which normally hosts the Kung Fu Panda attraction. The entire live show is approximately 15 minutes long, but a few of those minutes are spent on the “pre-show” portion. We were greeted in the lobby by Chucky’s assistant, who explained that tonight’s show would not include a guest due to an earlier “altercation” with the doll that apparently turned deadly. Instead, we were instructed to submit our own questions (via a QR code) for Chucky to answer.
From there, we shuffled into the auditorium and took our seats with the rest of the crowd. As we eagerly awaited Chucky’s entrance, we took a beat to take in our surroundings and absorb the atmosphere. From a design standpoint, the stage really did look and feel like a traditional late-night show, complete with all the classic elements.
“We took inspiration from the [late-night] genre as a whole, using a lot of the usual conceits that you see all across the different talk shows,” Stephen Siercks, Senior Director of Entertainment Production at Universal Studios Hollywood, told LateNighter. “From the classic desk, to the cityscape backdrop, to even [Chucky’s] own sidekick.”
It didn’t take long for Chucky to take the stage. The animatronic doll settled in behind his desk and greeted the audience with an eerie enthusiasm, noting what a “good mood” he was in (presumably due to the would-be-guest he just killed).
Chucky then moved on to answering some of the audience-submitted questions. LateNighter submitted a question of our own (we asked who his favorite late-night host was) but sadly, ours wasn’t picked. Chucky engaged with a few audience members directly—one attendee professed their love for the host, which seemed to unsettle him. He also predicted how one audience member would die: being impaled by an umbrella.
A couple of minutes before the show was due to wrap, Chucky asked if we wanted to see a “killing demonstration” (now there’s something you won’t see on The Tonight Show). Despite his sidekick’s warnings that Universal’s legal team wouldn’t be happy, Chucky was on a mission. The auditorium lights flickered as fake blood splattered across the projector screen, showing Chucky’s shadow sprinting away while producers scrambled to stop him.
“Thank you, dummies. It’s been a pleasure talking about me. Be sure to watch Chucky, now streaming on Peacock,” Chucky told the audience before signing off, referring to the TV adaptation (which was canceled in September after three seasons). He then added, with a dose of self-awareness: “This whole thing has been a promo, you’re goddamn right.”
Although this is Chucky’s first hosting gig, Late Night with Chucky isn’t the only time the killer doll has dipped his toes into the late-night world. He appeared on Saturday Night Live for the first time in 1998, stopping by the “Weekend Update” desk to comment on the Clinton impeachment hearings with Colin Quinn.
Chucky returned to SNL on April 9, 2022 (hosted by Jake Gyllenhaal)—this time voiced by Sarah Sherman in a memorable sketch with Melissa Villaseñor, Ego Nwodim, Chloe Fineman, and Aidy Bryant.
Sherman and Kenan Thompson also made cameos on the Chucky TV series in 2023, portions of which can be seen in the show’s Season 3 trailer :
Late night has served as a vehicle for horror several times this year alone. In addition to Late Night with Chucky, there was Late Night with the Devil, plus Jimmy Fallon’s immersive “Tonightmares” haunted maze attraction, which debuted at 30 Rock this fall (notably, it’s also designed by the Halloween Horror Nights team).
While Late Night with Chucky may not be all that scary to hardcore horror enthusiasts, the show is a fun, quick stop worth checking out, especially for fans of late-night TV. What Chucky lacks in the charisma and warmth of a traditional late-night host, he makes up for in vibes.
Late Night with Chucky runs at Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Studios Hollywood through Sunday, November 3. Tickets can be purchased here.
