Stephen King Raves That It: Welcome to Derry Is Amazing and Terrifying

Stephen King already got a peek at It: Welcome to Derry and called it amazing and terrifying. So yeah, the guy who created Pennywise thinks the prequel works. That is not nothing.

This one started life as a Max series and is now also airing on HBO. It shot in Port Hope, Ontario late last year and is set to premiere October 26, with new episodes rolling out weekly until the season finale on December 14.

• What it is: A prequel to Warner Bros two-part film adaptation of Stephen King’s It, set in Derry long before the Losers Club
• Where to watch: Originally built for HBO Max; now confirmed to air on HBO as well
• When: Premieres Sat, Oct 26; weekly episodes through Sat, Dec 14
• Episode count: 9 episodes total; Andy Muschietti directed 4 of them; Episode 1 is written by Jason Fuchs from a story by Fuchs and the Muschiettis
• Production: Filmed in Port Hope, Ontario; produced by HBO Max and Warner Bros Television
• Showrunners: Brad Caleb Kane (Tokyo Vice) and Jason Fuchs (Wonder Woman, co-producer on It: Chapter Two). Kane also just signed on to run the Friday the 13th series Crystal Lake
• Executive producers: Andy Muschietti and Barbara Muschietti (via their Double Dream banner), plus Kane, Fuchs, Shelley Meals, Roy Lee, and Dan Lin
• Season plan: Mapped for three seasons that step further back in time each year - Season 1 in 1962, Season 2 in 1935, Season 3 in 1908
• Studio temperature check: Warner Bros is reportedly happy with Season 1 and wants Season 2 moving ASAP

King didn’t wait for the rest of us to get to October. He watched the first episode early and jumped on social to rave that the show is, in his words, amazing and terrifying. Based on the math - nine episodes with a weekly rollout ending Dec 14 - expect a double-up somewhere along the way, even if they haven’t said so out loud yet.

The cast is stacked: Taylour Paige, Jovan Adepo, Chris Chalk, James Remar, Madeleine Stowe, Stephen Rider, Alixandra Fuchs, Kimberly Guerrero, Dorian Grey, Thomas Mitchell, BJ Harrison, Peter Outerbridge, Shane Marriott, Chad Rook, Joshua Odjick, Rudy Mancuso, and Morningstar Angeline. Character details are being kept under wraps. The only figure anyone will acknowledge in advance is, of course, Pennywise.

When the series was first announced, King gave it his blessing in a very King way:

"I’m excited that the story of Derry, Maine’s most haunted city, is continuing, and I’m glad Andy Muschietti is going to be overseeing the frightening festivities, along with a brain trust including his talented sister, Barbara. Red balloons all around!"

Andy and Barbara Muschietti, who steered the two It films, have been clear this lets them dig deeper into the book than the movies could. Their angle tracks: It is a big, weird, multitudes-within-multitudes kind of novel, and a series gives them room to wander into all the heart, humor, humanity, and horror they couldn’t squeeze into two features.

Showrunner Brad Caleb Kane was understandably thrilled that King loved the pilot and shared that reaction on Instagram:

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A post shared by Brad Kane (@bradcalebkane)

It: Welcome to Derry arrives October 26. If the guy who invented the nightmare clown says it delivers, I’m not arguing.