“It: Welcome to Derry” pulls no punches. The prequel series set in the world of Stephen King’s malevolent, shape-shifting clown monster opens with an unsettling sequence that builds and builds toward a gruesome climax. The show signals from the start that it Really wants to scare us, and I have to admit that I was rather impressed. I’m a huge fan of Stephen King and consider “It” to be his masterpiece. I also enjoyed Andy Muschietti’s 2017 film adaptation of the book. Which meant my hype was at peak for the follow-up, 2019’s “It: Chapter Two.”
Unfortunately, while “It: Chapter Two” did a good job casting the adult versions of the Losers Club, the movie itself was a bit of a mess, edited in a chaotic way that got on my nerves very quickly. So when it was revealed that we were going to get a prequel series developed by Muschietti, his sister Barbara Muschietti, and Jason Fuchs, I was slightly worried, both because “It: Chapter Two” was such a disappointment and because the idea of a prequel TV series sounded little more than a lazy way to cash in on brand awareness (someone remember “Dune: Prophecy”? Anyone?).
So it’s a nice surprise to say that “It: Welcome to Derry” is more intelligent And scarier than expected. It helps that the series has King’s book as a guide: many of the plots that unfold here are taken directly from this enormous tome of terror. I’ve seen five of the eight episodes of the first season, so there’s still a chance the series could fizzle as it nears its finale. But based on what I’ve witnessed so far, I’m willing to give “Welcome to Derry” the benefit of the doubt. The series is gruesome, bloody and yes, scary. And like Pennywise the Clown himself (himself?), he has more than a few evil tricks up his sleeve.
It: Welcome to Derry takes us back to the 1960s
King’s novel took place across several different timelines, with two main narratives set in the 1950s and 1980s. Throughout the story, there were a series of interludes covering various historical moments in the cursed town of Derry, Maine, painting a rich picture of Pennywise’s reign of terror. When Muschietti brought “It” to the big screen in 2017 and 2019, some changes were made. Instead of telling a parallel story of the ’50s and ’80s, Muschietti’s films were primarily set in the ’80s and today. As for those time-jumping interludes, they were completely left out – that’s where “Welcome to Derry” comes in. The series gets the meat of its meal from these interludes while adding new twists to the mix.
“Welcome to Derry” takes us back to 1962, where various newcomers and long-time residents of Derry find themselves dealing with all sorts of unexplained phenomena. Decorated pilot Leroy Hanlon (Jovan Adepo) has just arrived in town with his wife Charlotte (Taylour Paige) and young son Will (Blake Cameron James). Once there, he sets up shop at a local military base and discovers that some sort of top secret mission is underway involving psychic soldier Dick Hallorann (Chris Chalk). Horror fans will immediately recognize Dick Hallorann as a character from “The Shining,” but he Also makes an appearance in the “It” book, so it makes sense to have it on hand for the series.
Meanwhile, there’s also a group of local kids navigating the horrors of the world: the threat of nuclear war looms over everything, and as if that wasn’t enough, several Derry kids have a nasty habit of disappearing. The way the show handles its young characters is surprising – I’m being vague here to avoid spoilers, but let’s just say that the assumptions I made about the show’s 1960s version of The Losers Club didn’t exactly turn out as expected. The young characters in this story include Lilly (Clara Stack), a girl with a traumatic past, and Ronnie (Amanda Christine), who wants to clear the name of her wrongly accused father. Both Ronnie and his father are black (as are the Hanlon family), and the show’s focus on people of color also ties directly into King’s book. Although the film adaptation had black character Mike Hanlon being part of the Losers Club, it also abandoned much of the book’s material about Derry’s inherent racism. “Welcome to Derry,” meanwhile, attempts to address this issue head-on, although its approach is a bit more subtle than King’s.
It: Welcome to Derry is full of new characters and monsters
And what about everyone’s favorite sewer clown, Pennywise? It’s no secret that Bill Skarsgård is reprising his role in the films, but it was also recently revealed that the character won’t be appearing right away – at least not in clown form. But those who have seen the movie or read the book will remember that Pennywise is a shape-shifting creature that can take on various appearances to frighten its victims (King goes so far as to have the monster take the form of pop culture killers like the title character from “I Was a Teenage Werewolf,” “The Creature from the Black Lagoon,” “The Mummy” and the shark from “Jaws”). This aspect of the character allows “Welcome to Derry” to get creative, finding ways to have Pennywise wreaking constant havoc without Skarsgård appearing in every episode. This might disappoint some who are hoping to get wall-to-wall Pennywise, but it actually improves the series by increasing the types of scares from episode to episode.
Unfortunately, “Welcome to Derry” also seems a little too intent on explaining every mystery. This is an inherent problem with prequels in general: spelling things out and answering questions that no one was asking in the first place. Part of the power of a horror story like this is keeping things mysterious; Explaining things too much kills momentum. Speaking to EW, Fuchs mentioned that one of the goals of the series is to reveal the “origin” of Pennywise, but…do we really need that? Isn’t the killer clown much scarier if he remains shrouded in mystery? He’s a shapeshifting clown monster – things like that should defy any reasonable explanation, don’t they?
Whether or not “Welcome to Derry” explains things remains to be seen. One thing is certain though: the series is still bloody, with one nasty streak that might surprise some viewers. Here’s a horror show that takes horror to the limit, embracing the changing nature of its monster and exploiting it to the fullest (Are you interested in a zombie in a pickle jar? You’re in luck! Want a scary version of Uncle Sam? You got it!). Any horror show that unleashes a torrent of creative ghouls on the viewer is commendable and fits perfectly into the endless frightening horrors of King’s novel. For now, “It: Welcome to Derry” is a total monster mash that should satisfy hungry horror fans.
/Film rating: 7 out of 10
“It: Welcome to Derry” premieres October 26, 2025 on HBO and will be available to stream on HBO Max.
