- Network: HBO
- Series Premiere Date: Oct 26, 2025
Critic Reviews
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The cast’s emotional depth and depictions of fright and panic really elevate “It: Welcome to Derry.” .... When it’s all said and done, “It: Welcome to Derry” is a worthy prequel series that not only details the emergence of Pennywise, but also turns a lens on society to showcase how truly horrifying we can be as human beings.
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"Derry" has a distinct point of view, aesthetic and rhythm to it that is very easy to get lost in.
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Oct 29, 2025Assured, atmospheric, and full of eerie, unnerving dread, the series doesn’t reinvent King’s world—it enriches it.
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King diehards will be impressed by how faithfully the show recreates IT’s atmosphere of fetid, rising dread. Even Derry Girls fans who have switched on in confusion might be convinced to stick around – at least until the geysers of gore get going and the body parts pile up.
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Welcome to Derry excels in juggling its numerous storylines (so far) and offers great showcases for actors Chris Chalk and Jovan Adepo, as well as its countless scene-stealing child stars. It’s unclear if the HBO show will be able stick its scary landing, but the first batch of episodes prove to be spine-chilling fun this spooky season.
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The first episode accomplishes its most important task of re-establishing Derry and Pennywise with style and some expertly-drawn out tension, though some of the more CG-heavy scares fall flat.
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“Derry” dribbles out character details episode-by-episode through five (of eight) episodes made available for review, routinely connecting seemingly disparate characters. That “Stand by Me”-meets-“Stranger Things” vibe of the first episode returns in episode three, thankfully, since it’s the show’s most potent element.
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It’s ghoulish fun to see it all play out, but “Welcome to Derry’s” ambition sometimes outstrips its execution. The special effects can look corny and the story overloads us with too many characters. But each are given King-sized personalities.
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Here, either it’s assumed we know more, or character development was a casualty of the writing process. Either way, some characters are written pretty thin. Luckily, the young actors are all engaging, making up for a lot of that. And if you like horror — it sounds as if horror would be self-evident in a horror series, but fans of the genre know it can be surprisingly lacking — “It: Welcome to Derry” won’t disappoint. At least not much.
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It turned out a Stephen King story about an ageless evil that arises every 27 years is tailor-made for a prequel.
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"Easter eggs" ease us into the discomfort zone we’ve come to expect from adaptations of the horror King. It's not as clever a brand extension as FX's superb Alien: Earth, and if this isn't top-tier King—it’s not even the best It—it's far from the worst.
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Viewers looking for Stand by Me or even HBO’s King adaptation of The Outsider may be disappointed by the conventional plot and surface-level gestures at difficult topics like race in America, Native American erasure, and Cold War parallels, but those looking for invention, captivating characters, and flying two-headed newborns, IT: Welcome to Derry has a place for you to stay.
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Whether or not "Welcome to Derry" over explains things remains to be seen. One thing is certain, though: the show is consistently bloody, with a mean streak that might catch some viewers off guard.
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Unfortunately, some of the most unsettling moments of terror and gore to grace the small screen are contrasted here by some of the cheapest and corniest. .... There’s still surprising depth to Welcome to Derry’s overarching allegory of evil. Having an antagonist who feeds on fear, then drastically expanding those fears on a macro level of a still-segregated society, is smart, timely, and more frightening than most of the show’s actual scares.