How To Watch IT: Welcome to Derry Online
Watch IT: Welcome to Derry: Synopsis
Just in time for spooky season, the team behind the IT feature films deliver what is sure to be a terrifying prequel series. Set nearly three decades before the movies, Welcome to Derry will explore the untold story of Pennywise the Dancing Clown and his dark relationship with the titular town. Read on as we explain how to watch IT: Welcome to Derry and stream every installment wherever you are.
Anyone worried that Welcome to Derry is a cynical cash-in needn’t be concerned — in fact, quite the opposite is true, with plenty of lore-expanding material from Stephen King’s 1986 doorstop of a novel yet to be explored. While the pair of IT movies from 2017 and 2019 told the story of Bill (Jaeden Lieberher/James McAvoy), Bev (Sophia Lillis/Jessica Chastain), Richie (Finn Wolfhard/Bill Hader) and the rest of The Loser Club’s battle with Bill Skarsgård’s Pennywise, Welcome to Derry explores the novel’s ‘interlude’ sections, which delve deeper into the traumatic history of the town and the supernatural entity’s involvement with the numerous tragedies the residents have experienced over the years.
With Pennywise surfacing to prey on children in the Maine town roughly every 27 years, Welcome to Derry’s first season is set to chart the previous emergence to that in which The Losers Club first encounter the being. Set in 1962, the show follows Leroy and Charlotte Hanlon (Jovan Adepo and Taylour Paige) as they move to Derry with their son Will (Blake Cameron James), grandfather of IT’s Mike Hanlon (Chosen Jacobs/Isaiah Mustafa). Their arrival coincides with a series of terrible occurrences in the town, starting with the mysterious disappearance of a young boy.
The show is also set to star Chris Chalk as Dick Halloran, a character King fans will be familiar with from The Shining. While little information has been released about Halloran’s involvement, the character plays a small role in the novel as an army cook and a founding member of the African-American army nightclub The Black Spot, which, without wishing to give too much away, looks to be a major location in the series, and, if following the book, the scene of one of the aforementioned town tragedies. And that’s not the only link to King’s other work, with a Shawshank State Prison bus appearing prominently in the trailer.
For those hoping Welcome to Derry will recapture that Stranger Things magic of the first movie (while directly competing with the Netflix show’s upcoming final season), it’s worth noting there’s a strong cast of young actors including Luke Beattie, Redden Callaghan, Tom Hulshof and Taylour Paige, with the trailer teasing plenty of kid-detective action, including hanging out at the iconic Standpipe. The show was also developed by the IT directing/producing team of Andy and Barbara Muschietti, with Andy Muschietti also set to direct at least half the episodes.
HBO’s new IT prequel looks to be a mouth-watering prospect for Stephen King fans desperate to see the untold chapters of the novel brought to life, and for fans of the film, a must-watch expansion of the lore surrounding Derry and Pennywise. If you’re ready to have the Dancing Clown give you nightmares all over again, read on for how to watch IT: Welcome to Derry online from anywhere across the world.
How To Watch Welcome to Derry online in the US
US viewers can watch Welcome to Derry on HBO and stream on HBO Max. The show premieres on October 26 at 9pm ET/PT with new episodes arriving at the same time every Sunday.
A Max subscription is available from only $10.99 a month. There are a number of membership options too, so if you want to skip commercials and download shows to watch on the go, you can opt for the $18.49 a month plan instead. Max has also introduced a more premium tier which throws in 4K streaming too at $22.99 a month.
Alternatively, save up to 16% by signing up to its annual rates ($109.99/$184.99/$229.99 a year respectively).
Other Ways To Subscribe to HBO Max
HBO Max is available as an add-on channel via Amazon Prime. If you haven’t subscribed to either service before, there’s a 30-day free Amazon Prime trial up for grabs ($14.99 a month thereafter). The Max add-on will be an additional $10.99 a month thereafter.
Alternatively, if you want a more cable-like experience, you can get Max along with the Sling Blue plan and save $5 off your subscription every month alongside over 40 live channels, and plenty of on-demand content, too.
How to watch Welcome to Derry from anywhere
If you’re a US citizen on vacation or working overseas, you can still watch Welcome to Derry online just as you would at home.
While services like HBO Max block access from IP addresses outside of the US, there’s a handy piece of software called a VPN that can change your IP address to make it look like you’re accessing streaming services from any country in the world.
For example, US citizens overseas can subscribe to a VPN, join a US-based server and access their subscription from anywhere in the world, just like they would back home.
Step-by-step guide of using a VPN to unblock:
1. Choose your ideal VPN and install – our go-to recommendation for unblocking is NordVPN, costing from $3.99 a month with its 2-year plan.
2. Connect to a server – for HBO Max, for example, you’ll want to connect to a server based in the US.
3. Go to the stream you wish to access – for Welcome to Derry, head to HBO Max.
How to watch Welcome to Derry online in Canada
Welcome to Derry will stream on Crave in Canada from Sunday, October 26, with episodes arriving on the same weekly schedule as the US.
Their subscriptions start at $9.99/month for its Basic plan (720p video, includes ads) all the way up to $22/month for Premium (ad-free, 4K, downloadable shows).
If you’re vacationing outside the Great White North, you can make use of NordVPN to catch Welcome to Derry while you’re away.
How to watch Welcome to Derry online in the UK
Stephen King fans in the UK can watch Welcome to Derry on Sky and it’s pay-as-you-go streaming service Now, with weekly episodes every Monday, starting October 27.
Sky packages start from £15 per month, while the Now Entertainment package costs £9.99 per month, or £4.99 per month if you sign-up for a whole year.
A US viewer abroad in the UK? If you want to connect to a streaming service like HBO Max while out of the country, simply download a VPN and get access to the same great content you’d watch back home.
How to watch Welcome to Derry online in Australia
In Australia, Welcome to Derry will stream on the Aussie iteration of HBO Max when it premieres on Monday, October 27. The remaining episodes will drop weekly.
HBO Max plans start at AU$11.99 per month for Basic, up to AU$21.99.
Aussie away from home? If you want to continue streaming HBO Max while abroad, you can download a VPN and get access to Welcome to Derry just as you would back home.
IT: Welcome to Derry trailer
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IT: Welcome to Derry cast
- Taylour Paige as Charlotte Hanlon
- Jovan Adepo as Leroy Hanlon
- Blake Cameron James as Will Hanlon
- Chris Chalk as Dick Hallorann
- James Remar as General Shaw
- Stephen Rider as Hank
- Rudy Mancuso as Captain Pauly Russo
- Clara Stack as Lilly
- Amanda Christine as Ronnie
- Mikkal Karim-Fidler as Teddy
- Bill Skarsgård as Pennywise the Clown
IT: Welcome to Derry release date
IT: Welcome to Derry is set to premiere just in time for spooky season, with the first installment airing on Sunday, October 26 in North America and Monday, October 27 in the UK and Australia.
The full release schedule is as follows:
- Episode 1: “The Pilot” — Sunday, October 26
- Episode 2: “The Thing in the Dark” — Sunday, November 2
- Episode 3: “Now You See It” — Sunday, November 9
- Episode 4: Sunday, November 16
- Episode 6: Sunday, November 23
- Episode 6: Sunday, November 30
- Episode 7: Sunday, December 7
- Episode 8: Sunday, December 14
Is IT: Welcome to Derry based on a book?
While the two IT feature films covered most of the book’s main story, Stephen King’s original novel contains a series of ‘interlude’ chapters exploring the dark history of Derry and previous appearances of Pennywise. These form the basis for Welcome to Derry.