It – Welcome to Derry

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American supernatural horror television series

It: Welcome to Derry is an American supernatural horror television series based on Stephen King‘s 1986 novel It. Serving as a prequel to the films It (2017) and It Chapter Two (2019), the series was developed by Andy Muschietti, Barbara Muschietti and Jason Fuchs, all of whom were involved in the It films. The series stars Taylour Paige, Jovan Adepo, Chris Chalk, James Remar, Stephen Rider, Clara Stack, Amanda Christine, and Mikkal Karim-Fidler, with Bill Skarsgård reprising his role as Pennywise from the films. Skarsgård also serves as an executive producer on the series.

Andy and Barbara Muschietti along with Fuchs were developing an It television series by March 2022. After receiving a production commitment later that November, Fuchs and Brad Kane were hired as showrunners. The series was greenlit in February 2023, with Andy Muschietti attached to direct multiple episodes, including the pilot episode, and Fuchs as a writer. Casting began later in April, including Skarsgård being cast in May 2024. Filming for the series began in May 2023 but was halted that July due to the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike. Filming ended in August 2024.

It: Welcome to Derry premiered on HBO on October 26, 2025. The series received generally positive reviews from critics.

Premise

In 1962, a couple with their son move to Derry, Maine just as a young boy disappears. With their arrival, very bad things begin to happen in the town.[2]

Cast and characters

Main

  • Taylour Paige as Charlotte Hanlon, Leroy’s wife and Will’s mother who fights for what is right[3]
  • Jovan Adepo as Major Leroy Hanlon, a US Air Force major, Charlotte’s husband, and Will’s father. The character was previously played by Steven Williams in It (2017).[3]
  • James Remar as General Francis Shaw, a lieutenant general searching for a “weapon” in hopes to end the Cold War[4]
  • Stephen Rider as Hank Grogan, Ronnie’s father and the projectionist at the local cinema[5]
  • Matilda Lawler as Marge Truman, Lilly’s friend who is afraid of no longer being with the popular ones
  • Amanda Christine as Ronnie Grogan, Hank’s daughter who befriends Lilly, Will and Rich
  • Clara Stack as Lilly Bainbridge, a girl dealing with the death of her father
  • Blake Cameron James as Will Hanlon, Leroy and Charlotte’s son and science enthusiast who finds it difficult to adapt to Derry[4]
  • Arian S. Cartaya as Rich Santos[6], a Cuban American who befriends Will
  • Miles Ekhardt as Matty Clements, a boy who disappears when Pennywise awakens
  • Mikkal Karim-Fidler as Theodore “Teddy” Uris, Phil’s best friend who comes from a Jewish family
  • Jack Molloy Legault as Phil Malkin, Teddy’s best friend and a conspiracy theorist
  • Matilda Legault as Susie Malkin, Phil’s younger sister
  • Chris Chalk as Dick Hallorann, a soldier with telepathic and clairvoyant skills who helps the army search for a “weapon”. The character was previously played by Scatman Crothers in The Shining (1980) and Carl Lumbly in Doctor Sleep (2019).[3]
  • Peter Outerbridge as Clint Bowers, Derry’s corrupt police chief
  • Madeleine Stowe as Ingrid,[7] head of housekeeping at the Juniper Hill Asylum and friend of Lilly
  • Bill Skarsgård as Pennywise, an evil shapeshifting creature that sows chaos in Derry

Recurring

  • Maya McNair as Patty, the leader of the Pattycakes, a group of mean girls, who will do anything to be the center of attention, no matter how cruel her methods are.
  • Rudy Mancuso as Captain Pauly Russo, Leroy Hanlon’s partner and friend in the army[4]
  • Dean Yool
  • Alixandra Fuchs as Terri Bainbridge, Lilly’s mother
  • Kimberly Norris Guerrero as Rose, a Native American woman who owns a pawn shop[8]
    • Violet Sutherland as young Rose
  • Tyner Rushing
  • Dorian Grey as Loverboy Jax
  • Thomas Mitchell as Colonel Fuller
  • BJ Harrison as Louella Grogan, Ronnie’s grandmother and Hank’s mother
  • Shane Marriott as Reggie Davis
  • Chad Rook as Sergeant Masters, a racist military sergeant who has tension with Leroy
  • Joshua Odjick as Taniel, Rose’s nephew
    • Tres Garcia as young Taniel
  • Lazzelle Gelias as Rose Hallorann, Dick’s deceased grandmother
  • Morningstar Angeline as Sesqui
  • Kiawentiio as Necani

Episodes

Production

Development

In March 2022, Variety reported that Andy Muschietti, Barbara Muschietti and Jason Fuchs were developing and serving as executive producers of a prequel television series of the film It (2017) for HBO Max titled Welcome to Derry, which was to take place in the 1960s before the events of the film and would also include the origin story of Pennywise.[15][16] It received a production commitment in November 2022, and Fuchs and Brad Caleb Kane were hired as co-showrunners.[17] The series was given a greenlight in February 2023 with Andy Muschietti directing multiple episodes, including the pilot written by Fuchs.[18] Bill Skarsgård serves as an executive producer.[19]

Writing

In January 2025, in an interview with Radio TU, Andy Muschietti revealed details about the source material and longer-term plans. He said that the series is based on interlude chapters from the It novel. He said that “There’s a reason why the story is told backwards”, where the three planned seasons are set in 1962, 1935, and 1908 respectively.[20][21] Muschietti mentioned how with the first season they are only “opening a window” of the story and that it will really “manifest” in the second and third seasons.[22] The series will also focus on why Pennywise stays in Derry when he could go “somewhere else” and that he takes advantage of children because adults do not understand what happens to them.[23] Executive producer Jason Fuchs said that the plan, apart from revealing the origin of Pennywise, is also the origin of the “cursed town”. For Fuchs, Derry is also the entity “in many ways” because Pennywise “actually predates Derry”. If given the opportunity, the planned seasons would leave a “different understanding of the creature, the town’s rules, and what motivates It”.[5]

Casting

Bill Skarsgård reprises his role as Pennywise from the films.

In April 2023, Jovan Adepo, Chris Chalk, Taylour Paige, and James Remar joined the cast in starring roles.[16] Stephen Rider joined as a series regular and Madeleine Stowe as a recurring guest.[24] In May 2024, Bill Skarsgård was cast to reprise his starring role as Pennywise.[19] In June 2024, Alixandra Fuchs, Kimberly Norris Guerrero, Dorian Grey, Thomas Mitchell, BJ Harrison, Peter Outerbridge, Shane Marriott, Chad Rook, Joshua Odjick, and Morningstar Angeline were cast in recurring capacities.[25] In July, Rudy Mancuso was cast in a recurring role.[26]

Filming

Principal photography began in Toronto, Hamilton and Port Hope in May 2023, with the shooting title Greetings from Fairview, and was expected to continue through December.[27][28][29] Scenes were shot at the Delta Secondary School.[30] In mid-July 2023, production was suspended due to the SAG-AFTRA strike.[31] In August 2024, it was reported that production on the series had concluded,[32][33] and it was revealed that the series was titled It: Welcome to Derry.[34] Barbara Muschietti revealed the difficulty of returning to film the series with the child cast after the 2023 Hollywood strikes because they were “in a state of spontaneous growth”.[5] She estimated that “90% of three episodes” were filmed before production shut down and they had to come back to work in a different season and climate. She said, “This is a summer show, but suddenly it wasn’t a summer show any more. We had to create a different finale with a different climate”.[35]

Music

In May 2025, it was reported that Benjamin Wallfisch would score the series, returning from the films.[36] On November 2, 2025, the first volume of the soundtrack, consisting of music from the first two episodes, was released to streaming platforms,[37] and on November 17, the second volume, consisting of music from the third and fourth episodes, was released.[38]

Marketing

The first teaser was released on May 20, 2025.[39] Part of the cast and director Andy Muschietti attended the San Diego Comic-Con 2025 to talk about the season and a teaser was shown to attendees, being released to the public the following day.[2] The official trailer was released on September 23, showing a full look at Pennywise.[40] Muschietti and some of the cast attended New York Comic-Con to talk about the season.[8] A red band trailer was released on October 14.[41]

Release

It: Welcome to Derry premiered on HBO on October 26, 2025, with subsequent episodes airing weekly.[42] It was previously slated to stream exclusively on HBO Max.[43]

Reception

Critical response

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 80% of 121 critics’ reviews are positive. The website’s consensus reads: “While scattered plotting occasionally drains the fear from its chilling premise, It: Welcome to Derry compellingly deepens the myth of Pennywise through sharp social commentary, a dreadful atmosphere, and committed performances.”[44] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the series a score of 61 out of 100, based on 30 critics, indicating “generally favorable” reviews.[45]

Chris Hayner for Polygon called the series an “excellent prequel” and said that he was more interested in the lore of Derry and the influence of Pennywise on it than in the films. He mentioned how the violence was “plenty graphic” and how Pennywise terrorizes and controls the town “through other methods”.[46]

Chris Evangelista for /Film criticized the show’s attempt to answer every mystery that is presented, even those that “no one was asking” and that it is not necessary to reveal Pennywise’s origin since “things like that should defy a reasonable explanation”, but praised that “it is consistently bloody” and that Bill Skarsgård does not appear in every episode, with Pennywise seen more as a “shape-shifting creature” that “enhances the show” with a higher variety of scares. He stated that the series would “satisfy hungry horror fans”.[47]

Jack Hamilton for Slate dubbed the series “a baffling, half-baked mess”, complimenting the acting performances of the adult cast and highlighting some standout horror sequences, but criticized the “one-dimensional” writing for the child characters, overly complex plotting, “dated” representation of Native Americans in the United States, weak fanservice and “ham-fisted forays into socio-historical commentary”.[48]

Lucy Mangan of The Guardian awarded the series three out of five stars, calling the “demonic, liver-eating baby… horrifying”, and concluding that “horror fans and fans of King’s themes would likely enjoy the series [but] its visceral elements [may] push viewers’ tolerance”.[49]

Audience viewership

It: Welcome to Derry garnered 5.7 million viewers in its first 3 days, becoming the third most-watched debut on the platform, behind only House of the Dragon and The Last of Us.[50]

Notes

  1. ^ The second episode was released online on HBO’s streaming service on October 31, to coincide with Halloween, and was released on normal broadcast television on November 2.[11]
  2. ^ As shown in It (2017).

References

  1. ^ a b “It: Welcome to Derry“. Writers Guild of America West. Retrieved May 20, 2025.
  2. ^ a b Campione, Katie (July 27, 2025). “‘IT: Welcome To Derry’ New Teaser Unveiled At Comic-Con Teases The Origins Of Pennywise’s Terror”. Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on July 30, 2025. Retrieved July 30, 2025.
  3. ^ a b c Truitt, Brian (July 27, 2025). “Stephen King’s ‘It: Welcome to Derry’ prequel for HBO gets first look”. USA Today. Archived from the original on July 29, 2025. Retrieved July 27, 2025.
  4. ^ a b c Romano, Nick (October 8, 2025). “Meet the Hanlons! ‘It: Welcome to Derry’ stars introduce Mike’s grandparents and the horrors of the 1960s”. Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on October 9, 2025. Retrieved October 8, 2025.
  5. ^ a b c Romano, Nick (October 16, 2025). “‘Welcome to Derry’: On set of the ‘It’ prequel tracing Pennywise’s origins (exclusive)”. Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on October 18, 2025. Retrieved October 16, 2025.
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  9. ^ a b “Shows A-Z – It: Welcome to Derry on HBO”. The Futon Critic. Retrieved November 24, 2025.
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  12. ^ Pucci, Douglas (November 5, 2025). “Sunday Ratings: Chiefs-Bills is CBS’ Most-Watched Week 9 NFL Game in 18 Years”. Programming Insider. Retrieved November 5, 2025.
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  25. ^ Petski, Denise (June 26, 2024). “It Prequel Series Welcome To Derry Adds 10 To Cast Including Alixandra Fuchs, Kimberly Guerrero, Dorian Grey, Joshua Odjick”. Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on June 26, 2024. Retrieved June 26, 2024.
  26. ^ Petski, Denise (July 1, 2024). “Rudy Mancuso Joins It Prequel Series Welcome To Derry At HBO”. Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on July 1, 2024. Retrieved July 1, 2024.
  27. ^ Staff, Fangoria (May 8, 2023). “Filming Has Begun On IT Prequel Series Welcome to Derry“. Fangoria. Archived from the original on May 8, 2023. Retrieved May 8, 2023.
  28. ^ Hyatt, Sarah (May 12, 2023). “‘You may have noticed that our beautiful downtown looks a little different’: Port Hope transforming for filming again”. Northumberland News. Archived from the original on August 12, 2023. Retrieved August 12, 2023.
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  34. ^ Garner, Glenn (August 4, 2024). “HBO Teases Catherine O’Hara’s ‘The Last of Us’ Role, First Footage Of ‘The White Lotus’ Season 3, ‘A Knight of Seven Kingdoms’“. Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on August 5, 2024. Retrieved August 5, 2024.
  35. ^ Garner, Glenn (November 2, 2025). “‘IT: Welcome to Derry’ Creator Explains How Strikes “Complicated” Filming: “Suddenly Became Hellish”“. Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on November 9, 2025. Retrieved November 3, 2025.
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