Happy Halloween, indeed!
Just in time for the spooky holidays, HBO released a surprise episode of “It: Welcome to Derry” on the streaming platform. Titled “A Story of Derry,” the special is 30 minutes long and takes place hundreds of years before the events of the series and the introduction of Pennywise.
The timing is perfect for a surprise release of the supernatural horror series, which HBO renewed for a second season in August. “It: Welcome to Derry” originally premiered on HBO Max on October 26, 2025. It is based on the novel “It” by Stephen King and builds on the two-part “It” film reboot from 2017 and 2019. The series serves as a prequel to the films.
That month, before the series’ official renewal was announced, co-creator Andy Muschietti said Variety that the writers’ room had opened for Season 2. “There’s going to be a lot of that depression era in the air for our characters. Everyone’s trying to get by and survive the circumstances. They’re going to do crazy things,” Muschietti said. “And of course, the social, cultural and horrible things that were happening at that time as well. We’re not going to ignore them. (They are the) very center and heart of our history.”
He also clarified that season 2 will have a different aesthetic from season 1.
“In this case, on the surface, Derry is almost a cemetery. It’s the shell of something because people are exhausted, poor, tired, unemployed, homeless. Children don’t have a comforting suburban life,” Muschietti said. “They’re in a very different situation. Some of them are orphans or runaways, and so the environment is pretty bleak. But there’s still a side of hope that’s always there, burning, and that’s what keeps our new group alive.”
Season 1 is set in 1962 in the fictional town of Derry, Maine, and details the town’s residents’ past experiences with the evil, shape-shifting clown, Pennywise. Season 2 will travel back in time to 1935 and take place during the Great Depression. According to the logline, the story “centers on the bloody massacre of the Bradley Gang, a group of bank robbers who stop in Derry to buy ammunition and end up facing unimaginable horror.” (The Bradley gang massacre is one of the interludes in King’s original novel.)
Gn entert
