Warner Bros. is giving viewers a brand-new tour of the terrors of Derry, Maine, with Andy Muschietti's prequel, It: Welcome to Derry. By exploring aspects of Pennywise that we haven't seen, it's a terrifying new look at one of modern horror's greatest monsters.
It and It: Chapter Two were an inspired and often terrifying two-part adaptation of the Stephen King classic (read more about what else from King is coming on the big and small screen). Bill Skarsgård made for a frightful embodiment of King's famed cosmic clown. The various members of the Loser's Club were exceptionally cast, and many of the scares were alarmingly successful.
When Welcome to Derry was announced, it was a novel, welcome, but possibly perilous departure from what many expected of the profitable franchise. Eschewing a film follow-up for a 1962-set TV prequel is a risky enough choice; moreso is the idea to dig into its canonically mysterious origins.
The series boasts a talented cast backing its somewhat unusual route into Derry's world, and its uncompromising and routinely novel scares pivot It: Welcome to Derry into one of the scariest horror series in recent memory.
A Talented Cast Anchors the Pursuit of Pennywise
In Welcome to Derry, Leroy Hanlon (Jovan Adepo) is a gifted and fearless pilot who settles into the base around Derry with his wife, Charlotte (Taylour Paige), and their son, Will (Blake Cameron James). He's tasked with joining Dick Hallorann (Chris Chalk) on an effort to find Pennywise, alongside the parallel efforts of children Lilly (Clara Stack), Ronnie (Amanda Christine), and others to thwart It after the death of a local child.
Overall, the cast is excellent, amplifying the series' success. Adepo is a superb lead who lands powerful and stoic scenes well. Chalk has the unenviable task of portraying an earlier iteration of a beloved horror character and takes the task on well. His Hallorann is more traumatized and roughly talented than seasoned in his Shine, and it adds layers to the world.
Paige is unequivocally badass and beyond delightful as a warm, intelligent character who pursues justice with single-minded devotion and a mighty ability to use a phone.
The primary children continue the franchise's tendency for top-tier child actors. Stack plays the complex emotions of a traumatized character who's well over her head. Christine is equally stellar as Ronnie, a girl desperate to clear her father's name before he's railroaded for children's murders that he didn't commit.
The series's first episode features additional children who populate a key moment, setting the stage for what's to come. Some of those performances have limited believability, but overall, the cast excels.
It: Welcome to Derry Is an Uncompromising Expansion of the It World
The logic of the series is, in proper horror fashion, a little bonkers. Centering a military pursuit of understanding Pennywise centered in Cold War politics makes sense (given all the odd nonsense the U.S. government did during its all-encompassing efforts to topple the U.S.S.R.). Still, it's not exactly an intuitive storyline in a continuation of the narrative. It does open up unique avenues and usefully brings in Dick Hallorann, but it's a wild swing.
The series' expansion and stretching beyond the clues of Pennywise's origins are largely in the spirit of the novel. The entity's evolving ethos is consistent and terrifying. The growing inclusion of Native communities in the entity's pre-Derry history works well and makes sense. The evolution of the town's past seems rich with scares and intriguing elements, making the series' future plans exciting.
The best thing about the series is that its scares, true to form for Pennywise itself, are hard to watch, a previously-promised aspect of Welcome to Derry. They're vicious and personal, finely tailored to characters' traumas and phobias.
The different forms Pennywise takes and what it subjects its victims to all have innovative and distinct elements that sidestep repetition. They're haunting and uncompromising, gradually evolving the series into one of the scariest in TV history.
Altogether, It: Welcome to Derry is what Stephen King and Pennywise fans would want in a horror series. Pennywise is shocking, personal, and mean, and there's a solid build-up before it fully reveals the visage we've come to love... er, fear. The cast is excellent, with Chalk, Paige, and Adepo all excelling as their development proceeds.
The visuals are cinema-grade, and the scares are well-designed and executed. It may still prove controversial for its novel riffs on the King mythos, but they're respectful extensions that open up interesting avenues. It's an engaging fright fest, well worth any horror lover's time.
Final Rating: 8/10
It: Welcome to Derry premiered on October 26, 2025, on HBO Max.
