My Chucky TV series review, this late in October

Right, my Chucky TV series review: yes, it's worth starting now, but only if you don't mind it running past Halloween, because it's three seasons long and not a one-sitting watch. If you want something you can finish clean by the 31st instead, skip down to what I'd do with the five weeks I've got left.

For anyone who hasn't met him, Chucky is the doll from Child's Play, the one possessed by a serial killer using voodoo he clearly should have read the small print on. The television series picks up after the films rather than replacing them, and it keeps the thing that always made the character work, which is that he is genuinely funny in a way most slasher villains never bother to be. He bickers. He sulks. He holds a grudge like it's a hobby. I went in expecting jump scares and mild dread, and instead spent a good chunk of the first episode laughing into my tea, which then went cold, which then meant I had to make a second cup, which is basically the plot of my entire evening most nights.

My Chucky TV series review: is it worth starting this late in October?

Here's my honest problem with it as an October pick. It isn't a bad show, it's a long one. Three seasons is a proper commitment, not a one-sitting comfort watch, and if you're the sort of person who likes their horror wrapped up neatly by the 31st with a nice bow on it, you are going to be watching this well into November regardless of when you start. I'm not precious about finishing things on schedule myself, my reading pile has had the same three unfinished ghost story collections in it since March, but I know a lot of you are, and it felt dishonest not to say it plainly.

What it does have going for it, if you start now and just accept it'll run over, is that it's genuinely good company for the sort of night where you want horror but you don't want to think too hard. There's real tension in places, particularly mid season one, but it never leans so far into misery that you come away needing a lie down. It sits closer to the cosy end of horror telly than you'd guess from a killer doll premise, and honestly that's rarer than it should be.

What should I watch with the five weeks I've got left before Halloween?

If you want the doll but you also want the satisfaction of finishing something before the pumpkin goes soft on the doorstep, I'd start it now anyway and just not put pressure on hitting the end by Halloween night. Treat it like a slow burn you dip into a couple of episodes at a time, the way I do with anything that isn't the Christmas telly I've already got mapped out for December.

And if what you actually want is something you can start and finish before the 31st, with no cliffhangers left dangling into winter, that's exactly why the Scream Blu-ray box set never comes off my shelf this time of year. Four films, self contained, done in a weekend if you're determined, and you still get your slasher fix with a proper ending rather than a "see you next season". I've watched the first one more times than I'd admit to a therapist.

Either way, don't let the calendar bully you into rushing something that's meant to be enjoyed slowly with a blanket and questionable snack choices. Horror doesn't stop being good on the 1st of November. It just gets colder outside, which if anything improves it.

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