Welcome to Derry Finally Lets Bill Skarsgård’s Pennywise Do What the It Films Couldn’t
IT: Welcome to Derry finally unleashes Pennywise in episode five, released November 23, 2025, with Bill Skarsgård stepping back into the iconic role as co-showrunner Jason Fuchs teases even darker plans ahead.
Yes, it finally happened. Episode 5 of It: Welcome to Derry drops the curtain and lets Pennywise out to play. Bill Skarsgard steps back into the clown suit, but the show is very clearly not using him the same way the movies did — by design. Here is what actually goes down in the episode (light body horror heads-up), what the creatives say about their strategy, and when the next chapter lands.
Spoilers ahead: Episode 5 turns the key on Neibolt Street
Episode 5, titled 29 Neibolt Street, premiered November 23, 2025. The hour pulls Matty Clements back into the orbit of the show’s kid crew — basically this prequel’s spin on a Losers Club — and sends them chasing him into the sewers beneath that infamous house.
At first, Matty seems like a friend in trouble. Then he does not. Things tilt hard into nightmare territory: his behavior goes off, his head splits, his body contorts, and the mask drops. It is Pennywise, full clown form, at last. Skarsgard’s entrance is a straight-up transformation gag, not a gentle reintroduction.
Why the show waited to unleash the clown
Co-showrunner Jason Fuchs told Entertainment Weekly they never planned to open the series by throwing Pennywise in our faces the way the first It film opens with Georgie. This is a slow-burn approach, and Fuchs says the weekly format gives Skarsgard room to do things with the character the movies simply did not have time for — new shades, new tactics, not just the greatest hits. The point is the anticipation and the escalation.
"We decided that, in this season, Pennywise should be a little bit like the shark in Jaws... it was important for us to delay the pleasure, or the terror, as much as we could."
That is executive producer Barbara Muschietti explaining the plan. Series creator Andy Muschietti is on the same page: they are playing the long game so that when Pennywise arrives, it actually lands. Smart call — overexposure is how you turn an icon into wallpaper.
The bigger picture: cast, setting, and what is next
The show is set in the 1960s and is digging into the clown’s origins alongside Derry’s older, uglier history. The cast around Skarsgard includes Jovan Adepo, Chris Chalk, Taylour Paige, James Remar, Stephen Rider, and Matilda Lawler.
- Season count: 1 (so far)
- Showrunners: Jason Fuchs and Brad Caleb Kane
- Network/streaming: HBO / HBO Max
- Next episode: Season 1, Episode 6 arrives November 30, 2025
- Release pattern: new episodes every Sunday
- Current scores: IMDb 7.7/10, Rotten Tomatoes 79%
With Pennywise officially on the board, the fun part now is seeing how the show doles him out — in bursts, in shadows, and, when it counts, right in the kids’ faces. If you watched 29 Neibolt Street, I am curious: did the delayed reveal work for you, or were you ready for the red balloon sooner?
It: Welcome to Derry is streaming on HBO Max.