Pisaries Creator

It: Welcome to Derry arrived on HB0 in 2025, a spinoff prequel series to the 2017 and 2019 two-part blockbuster adaptations of horror author Stephen King’s iconic novel It. There are eight episodes and developed by Andy Muschietti, Barbara Muschietti, and Jason Fuchs. The series has a wide cast of familiar and new faces. The major cast includes Taylour Paige as Charlotte Hanlon, Jovan Adepo as Leroy Hanlon, James Remar as Francis Shaw, Chris Chalk as Dick Hallorann, Peter Outerbridge as Clint Bowers, Madeleine Stowe as Ingrid Kersh, Stephen Rider as Hank Grogan, Matilda Lawler as Marge Truman, Amanda Christine as Ronnie Grogan, Clara Stack as Lilly Bainbridge, Blake Cameron James as Will Hanlon, Arian Cartaya as Rich Santos, Miles Ekhardt as Matty Clements, Mikkal Karim-Fidler as Teddy Uris, Jack Molloy Legault as Phil Malkin Matila Legault as Susie Malkin, and Bill Skarsgård as Bob Gray and Pennywise. The majority of the show takes place in the 1960s in Derry, Maine.

Before I review the episodes, I want to say this is in the middle of the road in terms of a spin off and reimagination of Stephen King’s notorious characters complete with mental delusions, emotional disabilities, and unstable childhoods that bleed into adulthood. While I enjoyed Lizzy Kaplan as a young Annie Wilkes better in Castle Rock, Bill Skarsgård reprising his role was the highlight. He does a good job playing a loving father as much as a disturbing clown. It was hard to not see Bob Gray as evil before his transition into Pennywise, but his clown performance led to the inevitable. The acting overall by the cast was decent. There was not much room to showcase reactions to the horrors unfolding before the characters eyes. A scream by young girl is a scream by her friend although the reveal of certain characters related to the IT characters was a positive.

The first episode begins with Leroy Hanlon arriving to Derry Army base. Marge, Teddy, Phil, Lilly, Matty, Ronnie, and Susie are introduced where Matty disappears. The second episode deals with Hank being a prime suspect for the murders in the movie theatre. The army base works with Dick Hallorann to help them on their mission while the children discuss their visions. The third episode shows how the relationship between Francis and Rose started. It is revealed how important she is to keep Pennywise under control. The fourth episode is the discovery of the entity’s origins and the children discover the entity feeds on fear. The fifth episode is when Leroy takes his family to the Army base and the children enter the sewers in search for Pennywise. The sixth episode deals with Dick experiencing terrible visions while Rose tried to convince Francis to stop looking for Pennywise. The seventh episode shows how Bob Gray becomes Pennywise. A fire at the Black Spot brings the children closer together. The eighth episode concludes with General Francis Shaw continuing with his mission while the rest of them work together to save Derry from Pennywise.

I purposely left the episode descriptions vague so there are not any spoilers. Even if you haven’t seen the movies or read the book, this series is good by itself. In case you were wondering how some of the characters are related to the IT story, here is a quick recap.

Richie Tozier is the son of Marge Truman. He is named after Rich Santos. He is part of the Loser’s Club.

Stanley Uris is the nephew of Teddy Uris. Teddy is the brother of Don Uris. He is part of the Loser’s Club.

Henry Bowers is the grandson of Clint Bowers. He is the son of Butch Bowers. He is the enemy of the Loser’s Club.

Will Hanlon is the son of Mike Hanlon. He is part of the Loser’s Club.

Ingrid Kersh is the daughter of Bob Gray. She is institutionalized at Juniper Hill.

Beverly Marsh is the daughter of Elfrida Marsh. She is part of the Loser’s Club.

Dick Hallorann is the head chef at Overlook Hotel. He is tied to Danny Torrance in The Shining and Doctor Sleep.

I rate IT Welcome to Derry FOUR FINGERS at 90%.