It: Welcome to Derry Releases Second Early on HBO's Digital Service
Excitement is building for the chilling show Welcome to Derry, already earning acclaim and weaving in references from additional King stories. Just one day after launch, HBO declared that episode two will debut sooner than expected, timed perfectly for October 31st.
Schedule Change Particulars
Beginning on October 31 at 3 a.m. EST, the second episode of Welcome to Derry will make its debut on HBO's online platform, prior to its linear broadcast. Future chapters of the series run will continue to air on Sundays on the network and streaming service, leading up to the final episode on December 14th.
Show Background
Set in Stephen King’s It universe, the new series borrows elements from the original story while enlarging the universe established by filmmaker Andy Muschietti in It and It Chapter Two. The original It focused on adolescents battling terrifying threats, making it appropriate that this show follows in those footsteps. Yet, the debut of HBO’s Welcome to Derry shows it set out to raise the stakes, offering even more intense scares than the movies and establishing a dark atmosphere for what's to come.
Setting and Themes
Located in the early '60s, this show features a different group of grown-ups and kids inhabiting a seemingly idyllic town concealing a sinister core. The town follows a brutal, periodic loop—one marked by hostility, discrimination, and otherworldly forces, as a evil entity returns each 27-year cycle. While Welcome to Derry might seem like it skews too close to the movies initially, what sets apart the streaming show is its two-sided viewpoint—told from the perspectives of kids and grown-ups concurrently. Children are especially susceptible to the entity's fear, but grown-ups don't escape confronting their personal demons arising from Derry’s deep-seated bigotry and hidden paranormal elements.
It: Welcome to Derry airs on Halloween at midnight PT.
