Welcome to Derry Review – Pennywise Returns And He’s Not Clowning Around

Back in 1986, Stephen King gave the world It, a story so terrifying it made a generation terrified of red balloons and clowns. Then decades later, Andy Muschietti’s 2017 adaptation pulled Pennywise back out of the sewer and made everyone fear the Eater of Worlds again. The sequel in 2019, though, stumbled. Replacing the kids with grown-up Hollywood stars might’ve sounded like a good idea, but it lost the charm and emotional bite that made the first film special. HBO’s It: Welcome to Derry, set before both movies, has taken notes and come completely prepared to rival the first film. It brings back the heart, the horror, and, thankfully, the lovable and mischievous kids.

Created by Andy Muschietti, Barbara Muschietti, and Jason Fuchs, the new series opens in 1962, decades before the Losers’ Club picked up a bike or entered the sewers in search of their missing friends. The first scene sets the tone for what you can expect from the series. Survive it, and you’re in for a fun ride. If it proves too much, it’s probably better if you chicken out. A 12-year-old boy, Miles Ekhardt, clutching a pacifier while hitchhiking in the snow, gets picked up by what might be the least comforting family in television history. Things get chilling very quickly when he notices the family eating raw liver while they drive past the same Welcome to Derry billboard again and again. However, it’s when the mom starts giving birth to something unimaginable that the horror really kicks in. It’s chilling, sad, and horrifyingly effective—all in the first ten minutes.

But the real focus of Welcome to Derry is Major Leroy Hanlon (Jovan Adepo), his wife Charlotte (Taylour Paige), and their 12-year-old son Will (Blake James). They’ve just moved to the town, hoping for a fresh start. Unfortunately, this small town has other plans for them and the rest of its residents. Between racial tensions and government secrets, the Hanlons must now face a supernatural entity and figure out why it wants their son and his friends. Pennywise is everywhere. He’s lurking in every corner of Derry: the movie theaters, police departments, and somehow even creeping into the Native American community. Adults don’t notice a thing, of course, which makes it even worse. The entire town feels like it’s under some kind of spell, too.

Unlike Freddy Krueger, who only strikes when you’re asleep, Pennywise isn’t that considerate. He’s got no rules. He shows up when he feels like it, in whatever form he wants—sometimes a clown, sometimes something far worse. And it’s worth mentioning that the violence in Welcome to Derry is relentless. The gore is unflinching. There’s no safety net, no sense of who might survive. Anyone can die, and that constant uncertainty keeps you watching more and more.

But it’s not just blood and balloon time, though. The writing in Welcome to Derry digs deeper into what really haunts people. Abuse, racism, militarization, and stolen Indigenous land aren’t just secondary plot points. They’re part of the core of the story. It’s a psychological horror that isn’t afraid to ask hard questions about human cruelty. And this show makes one thing very clear: monsters don’t only show up in clown makeup. They’re among us.

And for longtime King fans, there’s a treat. Easter eggs galore. Mentions of Shawshank and The Shining weave this prequel into the larger King-verse. It’s subtle, but it gives the show a sense of scale without feeling like fan service.

Even after just five episodes, it’s easy to say Welcome to Derry might be the best addition to King’s horror universe in years… or ever. The pacing feels right. The characters matter. And the mystery of Pennywise’s origins doesn’t ruin the terror—it actually deepens it. You might think knowing where the clown came from would make him less scary. It doesn’t. If anything, it makes him worse.

So yes, It is back on TV again. And Welcome to Derry proves it’s right where he belongs.

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Welcome to Derry, the chilling new It prequel series, streams on Showmax every Friday from 31 October.