The finale to part one of Chucky’s incredible third season airs tonight at 9/8c on USA and SyFy, and we could not be happier for the world to see what this wicked doll does next. The season, like so many other recent shows, has been split down the middle, with part two airing next year. With spooky season upon us, we’ve been imbibing all things Chucky, enjoying the killer doll’s first appearance, Child’s Play, and all the sequels from the great Don Mancini. But perhaps the best delight in the franchise for the past 20 years is this new television series, which combines YA drama with gory dread and morbid humor. It’s one of the best things on TV.

As part of our month of Chucky, we’ve spoken to various artists behind the show, including Jeff Skochko, the famous special effects supervisor behind all these brilliant episodes of the Chucky series. It’s yet another iconic horror franchise to be added so Skochko’s pedigree, which also includes multiple Saw films, a George Romero zombie film, a Resident Evil sequel, a David Cronenberg masterpiece (eXistenZ), and two Cube films.

Meanwhile, we also spoke to production designer John Dondertman, who has gone from horror franchise installments like Jason X to hit TV series like Orphan Black, Titans, and Kim’s Convenience. His skill at television production is adept and on full display in Chucky, where he elaborates his work with a wonderful White House setting. That’s right, folks. Chucky is the First Doll of the First Family. Read on for our full interview with Dondertman and Skochko.

It Takes a Village… To Kill Well
USA / SyFy

“It starts with the script,” began Skochko, bringing us right into his process as a special effects designer. The special effects expert certainly had his work cut out for him in season three; if you haven’t seen the gory gunshot in episode one, or neck-bending geyser of blood in episode two, you’re missing out. “We’ll kind of figure out what is going to work best for what the director wants to see. There’ll be tests done, and it’ll be said, ‘Well, this is the way to go here,’ or, ‘Augment this.’ So it’s a lot of playing around and a lot of testing and a lot of using past experience to figure it out.” He continued:

“And then there’s also limitations you have with Chucky itself. So sometimes you’ve got to figure out something else. Chucky takes a team of puppeteers to operate as well, so you have to figure out what’s gonna work best when you have to hide three or four people that have to move Chucky […] So you’re always going in your bag of tricks, it’s a lot of fun, there’s a lot of creative mischief that he gets into. So sometimes you have to put your thought cap on and come up with a cool idea.”

It truly is a collaborative process, especially when the costume, makeup, hair, and special effects departments need to work with one another to figure out how a bloodbath best works. Skochko credits Don Mancini, the mastermind behind the Chucky franchise, for arranging such a wonderful team.

Don and his team, more or less, they come up with these great ideas, and then we help facilitate them. When I first heard that season three of Chucky’s gonna be in the White House, I was kind of taken aback, because I didn’t understand how that was gonna work. And then lo and behold, you start getting to the scripts and the story, and it all flows.

The Kills of Chucky Season 3 Get Even Wilder
SyFy / USA

Even with the shocking and darkly hilarious gore in episodes one and two of this season, Skochko knows that it gets much, much bloodier, anticipating the finale and part two next year. “I think the first couple episodes kind of started off a little slow. I think the biggest gag for us in the first four episodes this year was the chandelier.” He teased the future:

And I can say [episodes] five and six, I think, quiet down a bit, but definitely seven and eight are going to be huge practical effects extravaganzas? You know, there’s a saying we like a lot making Chucky — we say, ‘There will be blood,’ and there’s going to be definitely a lot of blood for this.

Related: Chucky Cast and Character Guide

It’s all part of Chucky’s commitment to increasingly inventive kills that continues to escalate and elaborate the world of this possessed doll. Skochko values the artisanal practical effects he and his team get to use for the show. “I think the pendulum has shifted. I think years ago, when CGI first came around, everyone wanted to jump on that bandwagon,” he explained. “Everyone wanted to get it, you know, ‘Oh, we’ll do that shot in CGI.’ And I think the reality is, if you don’t have the time and the money to spend on it, it doesn’t look that good, and then this cartoonish element kind of takes audiences out of what they’re watching.” He added:

There’s always a stigma that all practical effects take so long. Well, yes and no. I mean, you try to plan for everything and get things rigged ahead of time as much as you can […] There are a lot of tricks and practical effects that, as the technology has evolved, there’s a lot more things that we used to do that work better now.

Building a Haunted White House for Season 3
Syfy / USA

Production designer John Dondertman explained that season three was actually not going to go to the White House at all, and that the idea seemed a little out there but exciting. After all, you always trust Don Mancini. “There had been another idea for season three, and then Don came to me and told me, ‘I’m thinking of setting it in the White House now.’ You know, he’s the man behind this franchise for many decades, so he’s had this idea percolating, I didn’t really have a hand in the sort of gestation of that.”

“I think, again, it’s been in his mind for quite a while. So he came to me, and that sounded great. I’ve done a couple of White House projects before that were based closer to reality,” explained Dondertman. “So, now we’re looking at creating an environment that’s more cinematic. As you know, the White House is white, but we wanted something a little moodier. So that was the first conversation, about how do we make this moodier and more interesting. We dug into the past, like the darker past. It’s not political, but there’s been wars on American soil. So we’ve peppered the hallways with these war-type paintings, and I also got a little darker with the palette.”

Related: Exclusive: Chucky Makeup Designer on the Changes of the Killer Doll Over Decades

The research that Dondertman did to get in the headspace of a darker White House is fascinating. “We do a lot of research, and then we watch movies, we look at photos, we look at historical photos. There’s been so many versions of the White House, particularly the Oval Office has been like endless, every president does his own thing. So we sifted through all this,” explained Dondertman. “We still need it to feel like I’m in the White House and this is a new administration.”

“I’d have everything, all the bedrooms, a great hall, the West Wing, all this stuff, all done at once.” He continued:

And then also, they’re they’re working with this idea that there are ghosts in the White House, which is something that’s been documented. There’s been books written about it, some previous administrations, even some of the First Ladies have seen ghosts. So there’s a great history there to work with.

Spraying Blood on the President’s Ceilings
Syfy / USA

“I’m always trying to do something unique and striking,” added Dondertman. “I mean, the thing about this White House is, it’s massive, it’s a really big set, and that all has to work together. So if there’s one thing I think we took to another level, I was pretty happy with the way the Oval Office came out. Again, we wanted something sort of dark and moody that felt like the Oval Office, so we worked with a sort of green and gold color scheme in there. And I’m really happy with that. I think it’s pretty exciting and atmospheric.”

It works really well. And you know, it’s a bit of a spoiler, but you know, there’s definitely going to be blood in the Oval Office.

Dondertman isn’t always around when the blood starts to flow, though; he’s working hard to stay ahead of the production. But sometimes he does get a peak at what splatters the walls of his constructions. “Last year for instance, season two, I came back the day after they’d done everything in Lexi’s home,” explained Dondertman. “I mean, there were 14-foot ceilings in there, if not higher. They had sprayed blood absolutely everywhere. It was insane. So that’s pretty fun. Like, that’s why I build it.”

If he builds it, blood will come, that’s for sure. Check out the wicked carnage when episode four of season three airs tonight, Oct. 5, at 9/8c on SyFy and USA, and stay tuned for the second part of season three next year. You can check out the season three trailer below: