NEED TO KNOW
Pennywise and his red balloons are back to scare a whole new generation of children in IT: Welcome to Derry.
The new HBO prequel series takes place before the 2017 and 2019 film adaptations of Stephen King’s classic horror novel, and according to the official description, IT: Welcome to Derry continues to expand the franchise in Derry, Maine.
Bill Skarsgård returns as the killer clown Pennywise, who describes the latest addition as “hardcore,” keeping in line with the fright that the previous installments brought. At the same time, viewers discover more about the mysterious entity.
“There’s parts of it where we got to explore sides of old Pennywise. I think there’s some cool stuff in there that we haven’t seen,” Skarsgård said on the Happy Sad Confused podcast, per The Hollywood Reporter.
Here’s everything to know about the IT: Welcome to Derry release schedule, including when new episodes will be available to watch.
When did IT: Welcome to Derry premiere?
Brooke Palmer/HBO
IT: Welcome to Derry premiered on Oct. 26.
The two It films adapted the King book, but director Andy Muschietti thought there “was still a lot of story to be covered,” as he and his producing partner and sister, Barbara Muschietti, explained to Entertainment Weekly.
“In Welcome to Derry, we touch on the usual themes that were talked about in the movie — friendship, loss, the power of unified belief,” the duo continued. “But this story focuses also on the use of fear as a weapon, which is one of the things that is also relevant to our times.”
How many episodes are in IT: Welcome to Derry?
Brooke Palmer/HBO
There are eight episodes in the first season of IT: Welcome to Derry.
The series is a prequel to the movie adaptations of the classic King novel, It (2017) and It: Chapter Two (2019). The book is set in the 1950s, but the films moved up the setting to the ’80s. The evil entity that terrorizes Derry emerges every 27 years, so season 1 takes place in 1962.
According to Entertainment Weekly, if the series is a success, the following seasons will continue to go back every 27 years.
“Derry is the entity in many ways. Obviously, there’s a town that is separate, but to me, the stories are totally intertwined,” Jason Fuchs, Welcome to Derry co-creator, told EW. “If you think about the mythology in the book, It actually predates Derry. It has been there for millennia.”
“Derry is a more recent innovation. So is there a Derry without It? This season at least has some hints of an explanation,” he continued. “But we want to tell a complete story so that you leave the show with a different understanding of the creature, of the rules of the town, and what motivates It.”
What is IT: Welcome to Derry’s episode release schedule?
Brooke Palmer/HBO
IT: Welcome to Derry premiered with its first episode on Oct. 26. New installments will air on Sundays, but in honor of Halloween, the season’s second episode will debut on HBO Max a few days early on Oct. 31. The episode will also air on Nov. 2 on HBO.
New episodes will roll out weekly, until the season finale on Dec. 14. Here’s the full release schedule:
Oct. 26: Episode 1, “The Pilot”Oct. 31: Episode 2, “The Thing in the Dark”Nov. 9: Episode 3, “Now You See it”Nov. 16: Episode 4Nov. 23: Episode 5Nov. 30: Episode 6Dec. 7: Episode 7Dec. 14: Episode 8
What time do new episodes of IT: Welcome to Derry air?
Brooke Palmer/HBO
IT: Welcome to Derry airs new episodes on Sundays at 9 p.m. ET and 6 p.m. PT on HBO and HBO Max.
Where can I watch IT: Welcome to Derry?
Brooke Palmer/HBO
IT: Welcome to Derry airs on HBO and is available to stream on HBO Max.
