Some fans of Stephen King’s It may feel that HBO’s new series It: Welcome to Derry is an unnecessary expansion of the iconic story of the entity known to many as Pennywise. However, Andy and Barbara Muschietti have made it clear that there is a lot of story that remains unexplored in King’s novel despite its mammoth 1100+ pages, and that is what Welcome to Derry is uncovering. Additionally, they were given the blessing of King to really go to town to fill in the gaps.
It is a sprawling novel, mainly set across two timelines as it tells the story of how a group of children defeats an evil, sewer-dwelling entity that takes the form of the clown Pennywise only for the creature to return 27 years later and force them to face their fears a second time. However, mixed within the story are several interludes that hint at the long, dark history of Derry and It. That is where Welcome to Derry comes in, and King was happy to let the Muschietti’s take control and, after reading the script, did not impose changes. Andy Muschietti told The Hollywood Reporter:
“Stephen didn’t approach the show like that. [He] wasn’t imposing any kind of guidelines on us. I think his desire was to let us play with his toys because from the beginning, we were clear to him. [We said to him,] ‘Your book is a mystery. It’s a puzzle and left unsolved intentionally. And we’re going to create a lot of stuff to bring those enigmas, and also to fill in the gaps in the puzzle. Eventually, this creates a story that’s not in the book. It’s a hidden story.’”
The Muschietti’s have previously explained that their intention it to tell the history of Derry in reverse, with each season going back into the past to eventually arrive at the origin of It. As long as the first season delivers the kind of viewership to keep HBO happy, then by the end of the series, Stephen King fans will have one of the most definitive stories of Derry and the evil that has dwelt there for decades.
‘It: Welcome to Derry’s Unique Storytelling Style Can Benefit the Show
Andy Muschietti delivered one of the highest grossing Stephen King movies ever when he released It: Chapter One in 2017. The sequel did not quite hit the same box office high, but together the films formed a fantastic adaptation of the novel, going places the equally loved 1990 miniseries could not go due to network TV restrictions of the time.
Welcome to Derry will now bring that same level of horror to HBO this weekend, and having scored 77% with critics – a score that sits directly between the 85% of It and 62% of It: Chapter Two – it looks set to please King fans in what has turned out to be another impressive year for adaptations of the author’s work. That should mean more seasons are a given, but unlike many shows, Welcome to Derry’s unique backwards storytelling means that if the unthinkable happens and HBO decides to cancel the show at any point, there will be no real cliffhangers or storylines left unresolved – a shrewd and smart choice in today’s uncertain streaming world.
It: Welcome to Derry invites audiences back into the tortured town on October 26, 2025.
- Release Date
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October 26, 2025
- Network
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HBO
- Directors
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Andy Muschietti