Stephen King Publicly Endorses It: Welcome to Derry, Teases a Terrifying First Episode
Stephen King is raving about the upcoming It spin-off Welcome to Derry, stoking hype for a chilling return to Pennywise’s hometown.
Stephen King has seen the first episode of It: Welcome to Derry and, in his words, it is 'terrifying.' Also, he watched more than just the opener and hopped on Threads on October 7 to drop a one-word verdict on the season:
'amazing'
That is a pretty loud endorsement from the guy who wrote the book back in 1986. He did not elaborate, but honestly, he did not need to.
So what is Welcome to Derry, exactly?
This is a prequel to Andy Muschietti's It and It: Chapter Two, and it digs into the town's messed-up past that King sprinkled through the original novel's interludes. If you remember Mike Hanlon's research in the book, that is the vibe here: an oral history of Derry's greatest hits of horror. We are talking the vanishing of the Roanoke settlers, a catastrophic factory explosion, the burning of the Black Spot, and a whole lot of other bloodshed stretching back roughly five centuries. The pattern, of course, is the kicker: major atrocities popping up about every 27 years.
Muschietti (who directs four of the season's eight episodes) has said the show pulls stories from those interludes, including the interviews Mike conducts with older residents. Expect the familiar themes from the films — friendship, loss, the power of believing in something together — with an extra emphasis on fear being weaponized. Not subtle, and very timely.
Who we are following
The show is set in 1962 and centers on Mike Hanlon's grandparents, Charlotte (Taylour Paige) and Leroy (Jovan Adepo), who move to Derry and befriend Dick Hallorann (Chris Chalk), one of the founders of the Black Spot. King-verse overlap alert there. Meanwhile, Charlotte and Leroy's son, Will (Ryan Grant Little), gets pulled into the town's nightmare alongside other local kids — which naturally leads to a run-in with Pennywise (Bill Skarsgard).
When and where to watch
It: Welcome to Derry premieres October 26 on HBO and HBO Max in the US. In the UK, it lands the next day on Sky and NOW.