Photos courtesy of: HBO
Written by: TiShea Wilson, Managing Editor
The sewers of Derry are running red again. HBO’s long-awaited prequel series It: Welcome to Derry plunges audiences back into the cursed Maine town that made us all fear red balloons, storm drains, and childhood nostalgia. Set decades before the events of It: Chapter One, the pilot episode sets the tone for what promises to be an unsettling (and surprisingly emotional) exploration of the evil’s first awakening.
From the moment the series opens, it’s clear that Welcome to Derry is less a simple horror retread and more a layered origin story. The show captures the unsettling normalcy of small town life, slowly cracking its perfect facade to reveal something ancient festering beneath. The creative team, which includes Andy and Barbara Muschietti (returning from the films), crafts an atmosphere thick with dread and 1960s Americana. Think Stranger Things meets Twin Peaks with a killer clown lurking just off-screen.
The pilot introduces a new ensemble of young protagonists whose lives intersect through a shared sense of unease about their hometown. These kids aren’t direct mirrors of the ‘Losers Club,’ but the echoes are intentional. The writing leans heavily on themes of innocence, fear, and community denial, grounding the horror in human emotion rather than cheap scares. Visually, the episode is stunning. Derry’s streets glow in soft vintage hues, while its shadows hide grotesque hints of Pennywise’s influence. Director Andy Muschietti brings his signature flair for balancing heart and horror, with long, deliberate takes that stretch tension to its breaking point.
And yes, Pennywise is back. Though the clown’s full appearance is teased rather than revealed, the presence is unmistakable. Balloons float where they shouldn’t, voices whisper from the dark, and viewers can almost feel the character’s grin just out of frame. The pilot smartly holds back, using the fear of the idea of Pennywise to drive the story’s unease.
Where Welcome to Derry truly succeeds is in expanding the mythos without losing its emotional core. The show digs into the town’s cursed history, hinting at Derry’s role as a feeding ground for evil across generations. A chilling (and quite frankly heart stopping) closing scene connects the dots between the town’s tragedies and Pennywise’s cyclical hunger, leaving viewers both utterly shocked and desperate for more.
If the rest of the series maintains the quality of its pilot, HBO may have another prestige horror gem on its hands. It: Welcome to Derry doesn’t just revisit the world of Stephen King’s classic. It deepens it, reminding us that evil never really leaves. It just waits for the lights to go out.
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