One of my most highly anticipated projects of 2025 is HBO’s It: Welcome to Derry, a nine-episode prequel series expanding the lore of Stephen King’s iconic horror masterpiece, IT.
The project is coming from Andy and Barbara Muschietti alongside Jason Fuchs, and the series promises to dive deep into the sinister history of Derry and its terrifying shapeshifting predator, Pennywise.
In a recent interview with Radio TU, Andy Muschietti, who directed IT and IT: Chapter Two, revealed their ambitious plans for the series, and they are looking to deliver a chilling, interconnected story across three seasons.
But, as with any series, its continuation depends on the success of its first season, set to debut later this year on HBO and streaming on Max.
The first season of Welcome to Derry is set in 1962, just a few years before the events of IT: Chapter One. From there, the story will move backward in time with the planned second season exploring 1935 and the third season taking viewers to 1908.
When talking about this unique structure, Muschietti explains: “There’s a reason why the story is told backwards.”
The story draws inspiration from the interludes in Stephen King’s original novel, which detail the research conducted by Mike Hanlon as he pieces together the dark history of Derry.
Muschietti explains: “The interludes are basically chapters that reflect Mike Hanlon’s research… fragments of his research. For 27 years, it’s the guy trying to figure out what it is, what did it, who did it, who saw it, and all that stuff.”
Each season will center around catastrophic events tied to Pennywise’s cycles of terror, which occur every 27 years.
Muschietti teases: “They talk about catastrophic events from the past, like the fire in the Black Spot… the massacre of the Bradley Gang, a gang of bank robbers in the ’30s… and the explosion of the Kitchener Ironworks.”
These historical tragedies form the backbone of the planned three seasons, each offering a deeper exploration of Derry’s dark past and Pennywise’s monstrous influence.
Muschietti confirms: “We are basing the three seasons of this series on each of these catastrophic events.”
With Warner Bros. reportedly happy with how the first season has turned out, there’s already strong interest in fast-tracking the second season.
I loved the direction they are taking this series, and I hope that we will get to see how the stories play out over the course of the three seasons!
As fans eagerly await the series premiere, it’s clear that Welcome to Derry is poised to deliver a fresh and terrifying expansion of the IT universe, digging into the roots of the horror that has haunted generations of Derry’s residents. Prepare to witness the blood-soaked history of this cursed town unfold when the series debuts on HBO later this year.
Stay tuned for more updates on what promises to be one of the most chilling shows of the year.
Here are some details on each of the tree stories:
The Black Spot:
The Black Spot is one of the most memorable stories and it is told by Mike Hanlon’s father, Will Hanlon, a tale he kept hidden until his last days. In It‘s second interlude, Mike visits his father in the hospital and listens to his dad recount a harrowing chapter from his youth.
Years before, Will Hanlon and his fellow Air Force servicemen had created a nightclub called The Black Spot, a haven for Black patrons in a time of segregation and deep-seated racism.
One night, the Maine Legion of White Decency, a violent supremacist group, burned the club to the ground, killing many innocent people. And while the Legion set the blaze, something far more sinister was lurking in the flames…It itself, taking the shape of a monstrous bird, snatching up its victims amid the fiery chaos.
One of the people inside was a young Dick Halloran from The Shining, who worked in the club’s kitchen.
The Bradley Gang:
The Bradley Gang was group of Depression-era outlaws who arrive in Derry in 1929 to hide out from the FBI. They are gunned down by members of the Derry community on Canal Street in the middle of the afternoon, while arriving at Machen’s Sporting Goods store to pick up a shipment of ammunition.
Mike Hanlon recalls seven members of the Bradley Gang, though Norbert Keene, who was alive during the ambush, recalls eight members. The gang consists of its leader, Al Bradley, and his brother, George.
They rob six or seven banks in the Midwest and kidnap a banker for a ransom of thirty thousand dollars before deciding to kill the banker anyway.
The other gang members are the brothers Joe and Cal Conklin, Arthur “Creeping Jesus” Malloy, handsome Patrick Caudy, George’s common-law wife, Kitty Donahue, and Caudy’s on-and-off again girlfriend, Marie Hauser.
The Explosion of the Kitchener Ironworks:
The Kitchener Ironworks was an ironworks outside of Derry. In 1906, despite every machine in the works having been shut completely down, the Ironworks inexplicably exploded, killing a group of 88 children and 102 total people who were participating in an Easter egg hunt.
The tragedy was caused by It sabotaging the equipment, presumed to be responsible for eight missing bodies. This marked the beginning of the creature’s 27-year hibernation period.
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