It: Welcome to Derry premieres this weekend, taking viewers back to 1962 to witness a new group of kids tormented by an ancient, fear-fueled clown. Much of the original It centers on kids and teens facing terrifying danger, so it’s no surprise the series follows suit. However, HBO’s Welcome to Derry pushes the scares even further than Andy Muschietti’s recent It films, and the series sets this brutal new tone faster than audiences may expect.
Welcome to Derry opens on a snowy January evening in the cursed town of Derry, Maine, circa 1962. After being kicked out of a movie theater for sneaking in and refusing to return home to his abusive parents, a 12-year-old boy (Miles Ekhardt) clings to his pacifier for comfort as he hitchhikes out of town. When he’s finally offered a ride, the freezing-cold child accepts. It doesn’t take long, though, for him to realize what a mistake he’s made.
We’ll stop there to avoid spoiling anything in the episode. Suffice to say, Welcome to Derry takes little time showing just how graphic and terrifying the show will be, especially when it comes to the violence children experience in the town. From beginning to end, the show’s debut episode proves its creators aren’t afraid to “go there,” to the point that it should probably come with a graphic content warning for those who may be a bit sensitive to violence against children; it’s really that gruesome.
Showrunner Jason Fuchs has compared Pennywise to the shark from Jaws, a monster revealed in glimpses that builds toward a grand payoff. In Welcome to Derry, however, the focus shifts toward more shapeshifting horrors reminiscent of King’s original novel. With the extended runtime and prestige of an HBO series, the show takes its time exploring these terrors instead of rushing to spotlight Pennywise, resulting in a creepier, more intense horror than the 2017 and 2019 films.
Any viewer with even a passing familiarity with It should know what they’re getting into when it comes to violence against children, but Welcome to Derry turns the volume up to 11 when compared to the miniseries, and even the films. Given that, it merits a PSA if those adaptations are where one draws the line. Yet still, It: Welcome to Derry is an excellent series with a first episode that’s a perfect watch for the Halloween season.
