‘Chucky’ takes on one of the scariest places in America: Washington, D.C.

Welcome to Screen Gab, the newsletter for everyone who knows the only thing more frightening than inside-the-Beltway chaos is inside-the-Beltway chaos with a killer doll on the loose.

Just as a cadre of insurgent, right-wing Republicans moved to oust (now-former) House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Bakersfield) from his post — with a vote to replace him planned for next week — “Chucky” premiered Wednesday with a novel new backdrop: Washington, D.C. Executive producer Alex Hedlund joins us for this week’s Guest Spot.

Also in Screen Gab No. 102, we mark the long-awaited arrival of “Moonlighting” on streaming and staffers recommend the return of a Marvel favorite and a fresh take on the epic quest.

ICYMI

Must-read stories you might have missed

Seth Meyers, left runs through cue cards with Wally Feresten, right, in his dressing room at “Late Night.”

(Lloyd Bishop)

With writers, 250 cue cards and an extended ‘Closer Look,’ Seth Meyers returns to ‘Late Night’: With the writers’ strike lifted, The Times went behind the scenes with Seth Meyers and his team preparing for their first “Late Night” in five months.

How ‘Only Murders’ put Meryl Streep in ‘the most unexpected romance of the year’: Series co-creator and showrunner John Hoffman breaks down Season 3, including Meryl Streep’s guest arc, a panic-inducing finale and that Season 4 cliffhanger.

Looking back, Sarah Cooper ‘wasn’t ready’ for viral fame: ‘I suffered a lot of humiliation’: In a new memoir about her sudden rise, Cooper, who came to prominence lip-syncing Donald Trump, faces the personal and professional costs of going viral.

How ‘The Morning Show’ re-created the Jan. 6 insurrection, leading to Bradley’s big lie: “The Morning Show” depicts the attack on the U.S. Capitol and Bradley Jackson’s coverage. The show’s leaders discuss how it came together.

Turn on

Recommendations from the film and TV experts at The Times

Tom Hiddleston, left, Ke Huy Quan and Owen Wilson in “Loki” Season 2.

(Gareth Gatrell)

‘Loki’ (Disney+)

This week the Marvel Television Universe brought forth the second season of “Loki,” a sometimes dark, sometimes moving, generally delightful comedy of branching timelines, the militarized bureaucracy that corrects them for good and/or evil and heroic antiheroes trying, as you might find yourself doing, to make sense of it all. The first season did a fine job of transforming Tom Hiddleston’s Norse God of Mischief from a bad guy to something of a good guy, taking him out of his black Asgardian leathers and plopping him in a shirt and tie and giving him a complement of ordinary feelings — including a romantic interest in Sylvie (Sophia Di Martino), a female version of himself from another timeline. (Seems appropriate.) This season begins where the last left off, with Loki, back from the End of Time, unrecognized by Mobius (Owen Wilson), his partner rogue-cop buddy. New to the team: Ke Huy Quan as Ouroboros, a cheerful Time Variant Authority repairman, who brings added light. It’s as close as we’ll ever come to a Marvel movie directed by Terry Gilliam. (And props to production designer Kasra Farahani, the show’s secret superhero.) — Robert Lloyd

“Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End.”

(Kanehito Yamada, Tsukasa Abe / Shogakukan / Frieren Project)

‘Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End’ (Crunchyroll)

What happens to a group of heroes after they defeat the big villain and complete their quest? How do long-term friendships work between people of different races such as humans, elves and dwarves, who experience the flow of time so differently? If those are among the questions you have entertained during a Dungeons & Dragons campaign or while watching “The Lord of the Rings,” “Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End” is the show for you. The series follows Frieren, an elven mage who was a member of the hero’s party that took down the Demon King after a 10-year journey. It’s only after the group’s members go their separate ways that Frieren comes to really understand just how fleeting human life is compared to hers, and a certain regret comes to guide her next steps. It’s a fantasy series about friendship and connection, engaging with themes around humanity, mortality and legacy. But don’t worry, it’s more a travelogue with magic and monsters than a show weighed down by its existential themes. — Tracy Brown

Catch up

Everything you need to know about the film or TV series everyone’s talking about

“Moonlighting” stars Cybill Shepherd and Bruce Willis.

(ABC Photo Archives / Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty Images)

Many moons ago, when I was in high school and humans still gathered around things called water coolers to chat about the latest episode of their favorite television show, “Moonlighting” was a true water-cooler phenomenon. Over its five-season run, from 1985 to 1989, the ABC series launched a previously unknown Bruce Willis to mega-stardom, reignited the career of Cybill Shepard and shook up stale TV formulas with its groundbreaking blend of fourth-wall-breaking screwball comedy, mystery, fantasy and will-they-or-won’t-they romance. Yet for years, “Moonlighting” has been maddeningly unavailable on streaming, held up by the high cost of clearing the rights to the music used in the show. “I’ve been campaigning since about 2005, saying, ‘What can we do to get it back in circulation?’” the show’s creator, Glenn Gordon Caron, told The Times earlier this year. “It’s been frustrating.”

At last, all 67 episodes of the series are coming to Hulu on Tuesday, giving fans the chance to revisit the razor-sharp banter and simmering sexual tension between Shepherd’s Maddie, a former fashion model who finds herself running a detective agency, and Willis’ crass, wise-cracking David. If you’re new to the show, get ready for one of the wittiest, most wildly unpredictable series in network history. A black-and-white episode, introduced by Orson Welles and featuring dueling film-noir dream sequences? Check. An episode written entirely in iambic pentameter delivering a twist on Shakespeare’s “The Taming of the Shrew? Check again. A nine-minute musical dream sequence set to Billy Joel? Sure, why not? (Be prepared for a lot of dream sequences.)

Beset by behind-the-scenes drama and eventually overshadowed by Willis’ exploding film career, “Moonlighting” saw its ratings decline in its last two seasons before it was finally canceled by the network (an event that, in its usual meta-fictional fashion, the series incorporated into its finale). With Willis now retired from acting after being diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia, Caron is just happy to see the show finally get a new shot at life. “For a lot of people, Bruce begins with the first ‘Die Hard’ movie, so they don’t realize what an amazing comic actor he is,” Caron said. “Both he and Cybill were capable of incredible verbal virtuosity. I’m excited about people seeing their great work again.” — Josh Rottenberg

Guest spot

A weekly chat with actors, writers, directors and more about what they’re working on — and what they’re watching

Devon Sawa, center, as President Collins in “Chucky.”

(Syfy)

If the marketing minds behind “Chucky” (USA, Syfy, Peacock) planned the series’ return for the start of spooky season, they’ve awoken this week to something of a bonus: What better time for the killer doll of the “Child’s Play” franchise to move into the White House than a moment of political bloodletting in D.C.? (Plus, Devon Sawa plunges a knife into every millennial’s heart by being old enough to play the president.) To mark the premiere of Season 3, Part I — the remaining episodes are due in 2024 — executive producer Alex Hedlund stopped by Screen Gab to share his October viewing traditions, tell us what he’s watching and more. —Matt Brennan

What have you watched recently that you are recommending to everyone you know?

“Sleep”! It’s a Korean film that played at Cannes. The tone is so unique, it’s fantastic. On the TV side, the new ones that I was most inspired by (and jealous that I wasn’t a part of) so far this year are “Swarm” [Prime Video], “Beef” [Netflix] and “Drops of God” [Apple TV+]. Oh, and “Lessons in Chemistry” [Apple TV+] because it’s amazing and my wife worked on it!

What is your go-to “comfort watch,” the movie or TV show you go back to again and again?

The first 10 seasons of “The Simpsons” [Disney+] are evergreen to me. I’ve seen some of those episodes hundreds of times, and they never get old. Endlessly quotable too!

Even casual horror buffs tend to prepare for Halloween by rewatching old favorites in the genre or catching up with newer releases they might have missed. What’s on your October calendar this year?

There are a ton of films playing at the New Beverly that I’ve never seen on the big screen, like “They Live” [Peacock, Starz, Tubi], “Christine” [AMC+] and “The Fly” [Max], that I am dying to see with an audience. I’m also really looking forward to “The Mill” on Hulu, “The Fall of the House of Usher” on Netflix and “30 Coins” Season 2 on Max. And of course there’s the perennial viewing of “The Nightmare Before Christmas” [Disney+] with my kids — followed by kids’ perennial nightmares!

Season 3 finds Chucky inside the White House. What’s the scariest thing about Washington, D.C. right now, in your view?

More like what’s NOT scary about D.C. right now!