“IT: Welcome to Derry” arrives carrying the weight of a franchise that has already been adapted twice over. The series, developed by Andy Muschietti, Barbara Muschietti and Jason Fuchs, serves as a prequel to the films “It” (2017) and “It Chapter Two” (2019). It premiered on HBO on October 26, 2025, and ran eight episodes through December 14, 2025. Its critical score sits at 6.1/10. That number is fair. The show is often striking, sometimes muddled, and never quite as frightening as the thing it is built around.
Trailer, via HBO Max.
A Prequel Set in 1962 Derry, Maine
The first season takes place in 1962. A couple and their son move to Derry, Maine, just as a young boy disappears. With their arrival, bad things begin to happen in the town. That is the premise, and it is a sturdy one. Derry is a town with a long-buried ancient evil, and the show wants to show us how that evil works on ordinary people before the Losers’ Club ever comes together.
The cast is large. Taylour Paige plays Charlotte Hanlon. Jovan Adepo plays Leroy Hanlon. Their son, Will Hanlon, is played by Blake Cameron James. James Remar plays General Francis Shaw. Stephen Rider plays Hank Grogan, and Amanda Christine plays Ronnie Grogan. Matilda Lawler plays Marge Truman. Clara Stack plays Lilly Bainbridge. Arian S. Cartaya plays Rich Santos. Chris Chalk plays Dick Hallorann.
That is a lot of names, and the show treats them as a genuine ensemble. The adults get storylines about a U.S. military operation that seeks to exploit Derry for its own objectives. The kids get the more familiar terror. The two halves do not always mesh.
Bill Skarsgård Returns as Pennywise
Bill Skarsgård reprises his role as Pennywise from the films. He also serves as an executive producer. His return is the show’s biggest asset and its biggest problem. When he is on screen, the series has a center of gravity. When he is not, it drifts.
The performance is not the issue. Skarsgård’s Pennywise remains a genuinely unsettling creation, and the show uses him sparingly enough that his appearances land. The problem is that the series has to build a whole season around a monster who works best in short bursts. The 1962 setting gives the writers room to explore Derry’s history, but it also means the show spends a lot of time on town politics and military intrigue that never quite earns its place.
The Military Operation Is the Weakest Thread
General Shaw and the military subplot are where “IT: Welcome to Derry” loses its footing. The idea that the U.S. military would take an interest in Derry is not unreasonable for a horror story. It gives the season a second engine. But the execution is thin. The operation is vague about what it actually wants, and the show never makes a convincing case that this thread is as urgent as the disappearances.
The result is a season that feels split. The kids’ storyline has the dread and the momentum. The adults’ storyline has the budget and the names. The two never fully converge in a way that justifies the split. When the finale arrives, the military material feels like a detour rather than a payoff.
The Young Cast Carries the Season
The younger cast is the best thing in the show. Blake Cameron James, Matilda Lawler, Clara Stack and Arian S. Cartaya are asked to do a lot of heavy lifting, and they do it. The show understands that Stephen King’s novel works because the kids feel real, and the series follows that instinct.
Chris Chalk’s Dick Hallorann is another highlight. The character is a familiar one from King’s wider universe, and Chalk gives him a warmth that the rest of the show often lacks. The series is at its best when it slows down and lets these characters talk. The horror is more effective when it is personal.
The Production Values Are Strong, the Writing Is Not
The direction and production values are strong. The show looks like a film, and the title sequence is one of the more memorable ones of the year. Derry itself is well rendered, a small town with something wrong underneath it. The period detail of 1962 is convincing without being showy.
The writing is the weak point. The season has eight episodes, and it does not always know what to do with them. Some episodes move quickly. Others stall. The visual effects are inconsistent, and a few sequences that should be terrifying instead look artificial. The show is at its best when it relies on atmosphere rather than spectacle.
A Second Season Is Already Coming
The series has 2 seasons. In August 2026, it was renewed for a second season. That season will be set in 1935, during the Great Depression. The Bradley Gang, a group of bank robbers, arrives in Derry to purchase ammunition, only to find themselves caught in a brutal massacre and confronted with terrifying horrors.
That is a smart pivot. The 1962 season had to introduce a large cast and establish the rules of the show. A 1935 season can be tighter. The Bradley Gang gives the second season a clear, contained story, and the Depression setting is a better fit for the kind of dread the show is chasing. The series may yet find its footing.
What the Show Gets Right About Derry
The show understands that Derry is the real monster. The town is not just a setting. It is a character, and the series treats it that way. The disappearances are not random. The town looks away. The adults are complicit. That is the core of King’s novel, and the series respects it.
The 1962 setting also lets the show explore a specific kind of American repression. The military operation, the town’s silence, the way bad things are allowed to happen — it all fits. The show is not subtle about any of this, but it does not need to be. The point is that Derry’s evil is not just supernatural. It is civic.
The Verdict on “IT: Welcome to Derry”
“IT: Welcome to Derry” is a 6.1/10. It is a well-made show with a strong cast, a good sense of place, and a genuine understanding of what makes Derry frightening. It is also a show that never quite figures out how to fill eight episodes. The military subplot is a drag. The writing is uneven. The visual effects are hit or miss.
The show’s biggest problem is that it is a prequel to a story that has already been told twice. It has to justify its own existence. It does that best when it focuses on the kids and the town. It does that worst when it tries to be a conspiracy thriller. The second season has a chance to correct that. For now, “IT: Welcome to Derry” is a solid, flawed return to a familiar town.
KEY FACTS BOX
- Title: IT: Welcome to Derry
- Network: HBO
- Premiere: October 26, 2025
- Finale: December 14, 2025
- Episodes: 8
- Seasons: 2
- Critical score: 6.1/10
- Metacritic: 61/100
- Created by: Andy Muschietti, Barbara Muschietti, Jason Fuchs
- Starring: Taylour Paige, Jovan Adepo, James Remar, Stephen Rider, Matilda Lawler, Amanda Christine, Clara Stack, Blake Cameron James, Arian S. Cartaya, Chris Chalk
- Bill Skarsgård returns as Pennywise
- Season 1 setting: 1962, Derry, Maine
- Season 2 setting: 1935, during the Great Depression
- Genres: Drama, Mystery
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