[WARNING: SPOILERS FOR “IT: WELCOME TO DERRY”]
“IT: Welcome to Derry” (2025) opens with a tune from the 1962 musical, “The Music Man” – “Ya Got Trouble” – to let the viewers know exactly what’s in store. The show serves as a prequel to Andrés Muschietti’s “IT” movies – released in 2017 and 2019 – which adapt Stephen King’s novel of the same name. Taking place in 1962, twenty-seven years before the television miniseries, the viewers are given a new cast, new scares, and new insights into the origins of Derry, Maine, the fictional town where the horror unfolds.
The show balances numerous interweaving plotlines that cover Derry’s history and residents. Aside from the main plot with the kids, we’re introduced to Major Leroy Hanlon (Jovan Adepo) and returning character from “The Shining” Dick Hallorann (Chris Chalk) pursuing information on IT (the shape-shifting creature known as Pennywise) under the military’s orders. We’re also presented with pawnbroker Rose (Kimberly Guerrero) working with fellow Native Americans to keep IT contained, Charlotte Hanlon (Taylour Paige) protecting falsely convicted Hank Grogan (Stephen Rider), and several others. Though it’s all contained in Derry, every individual story is unique, so it never feels repetitive.
Performances from Clara Stack as Lilly Bainbridge and Chris Chalk as Hallorann are especially stellar, but I would say every actor and actress, kid or adult, got their moment to shine. The show also makes sure to lend plenty of time to showcasing the cast’s quirks and flaws, both to foster bonds with each other and plant a seed of fear in the viewers that, maybe, we’ll lose them in a grisly fashion. And the show doesn’t shy up on the violence; it’s made clear from the first episode that nobody is safe in Derry.
Pennywise (reprised by Bill Skarsgård) is consistently the star of the show. Skarsgård’s performance is spellbinding; he steals every scene he’s in and flourishes as both a terrifying and entertaining villain. Some of the most interesting parts of the show are the flashbacks – “IT” is a complex creature in both origin and motivation, so every glimpse we get into his earlier days never fails to keep you hooked.
Thematically, the show touches upon some dark places. Racism, social unrest, and generational trauma seem to have shaped Derry for years. These are heavy topics, but they’re never written immaturely, treating them with the nuance and respect they deserve. Both the kids and adults have to learn to overcome these circumstances to protect the ones they love, and it is gripping to watch.
However, the show has several weak points. While there are plenty of genuinely scary scenes – grinning Derry residents lurking in the background, Hallorann’s visions of dead people, and every one of Pennywise’s rampages – the show has an unhealthy reliance on using CGI monsters that looked like they walked out of a “Goosebumps” book. So many of the moments that are meant to be scary only offer up empty spectacle; sometimes they’ll even present a scene that is on-track to be terrifying on its own, but turns it into a big joke by slapping in goofy teeth banshees, or men with pickle-tentacles.
In addition, the dialogue can occasionally be a bit wooden, meaning the performers are hard-pressed to sell a scene, and they don’t always succeed. And because it’s a prequel, a lot of the scenes feel like they’re pointing fingers toward references the die-hard fans will get; whether that be character last names or set pieces, which can often be distracting.
That being said, this show makes up for it with the same emotional core that was present in King’s book and Muschietti’s movies. There’s a heartfelt undercurrent that lives in the friendships, alliances, and relationships that bloom within the cast. “IT: Welcome to Derry” understands that horror is much more effective if the characters feel human, and they definitely do here. That’s why we cheer when, together, the characters we’ve grown to love defeat Pennywise in the end.
Overall, this show hits the marks it aims for. It’s scary, it’s fun, and delivers plenty of lore. As of now, Season 2 of “IT: Welcome to Derry” is currently in the works, and fans eagerly await the next step the story will take.
Pennywise may have been bested this time, but the show offers an eerie consolation – “You know what they say about Derry. No one who dies here ever really dies.”
