Welcome to Derry Season 1 Review: Same Town, New Kids, Same Nightmare.
Image Courtesy of Warner Bros Discovery.
It: Welcome to Derry’s first season wrapped up this weekend, and unless you were living under a rock, it has been the talk of the town. After the way the movies ended, a lot of people assumed this world was officially done, that there was nowhere left to go without things starting to feel forced. Instead, creators Andy and Barbara Muschietti, along with Jason Fuchs, took a surprisingly smart detour.
The series is set 27 years before the events of IT: Chapter One and follows a completely new cast of characters, while still holding on to that familiar feeling that Derry never really lets anything go. There is a generational connection quietly running in the background, the kind longtime fans will definitely notice, but the show is confident enough to let these new characters stand on their own and tell their own story.
Image Courtesy of Warner Bros Discovery.
As we learned watching the Losers’ Club go up against Pennywise, he resurfaces every 27 years, terrorizing the people of Derry, especially the kids, before slipping back into hibernation. Welcome to Derry sticks to that idea, but flips it on its head. Instead of jumping 27 years into the future, the series sends us backward, landing squarely in 1962.
And this version of Derry is not exactly a postcard. Like much of America at the time, the town is weighed down by social, political, and cultural tensions that feel baked into everyday life. Racism and sexism are front and center, shaping how people move, who gets listened to, and who gets ignored. The show smartly uses this backdrop to remind us that long before Pennywise shows his face, Derry was already a place where fear, prejudice, and cruelty had a way of thriving on their own.
Image Courtesy of Warner Bros Discovery.
Now, I don’t want to be dishonest. The first few episodes didn’t immediately hook me. They move at a slower pace, and the jump scares are not exactly the kind that make you grab the nearest pillow. That doesn’t mean they are bad episodes, though. It felt pretty clear that the showrunners were playing the long game.
In an era where we are used to being pulled in hard within the first ten minutes, these early episodes might feel like they are missing that immediate oomph needed to bring people back every Sunday. But holding Pennywise back turns out to be the right call. Introducing him too early would have dulled his presence, and when he finally does start to take center stage in the back half of the season, his impact is impossible to ignore.
Our boy Pennywise is absolutely brutal in this series. I loved the energy Bill Skarsgård brings to the character this time around. He is cocky, unhinged, violent, and somehow still playful, which makes him even more unsettling. Every time he showed up on screen, the excitement level shot through the roof.
Part of that reaction might be because the first half of the season takes its time, but honestly, it feels more like a testament to just how electric this performance is. When Pennywise enters the picture, the show immediately snaps into focus, and Skarsgård makes sure you feel every second of it.
The rest of the cast does a great job across the board, helping bring 1962 Derry to life in a way that feels lived in and believable. The kids, in particular, bring a much-needed sense of innocence and charm that helps balance out the violent, uncaring nature of the main antagonist. Watching them slowly come together to stand up to Pennywise feels a lot like watching the Losers’ Club all over again, just filtered through a different generation. And with the reveal we get in the final episode, that comparison ends up making even more sense, though I will leave it at that to avoid spoilers.
All in all, this series does a fantastic job expanding the IT storyline and the Stephen King universe as a whole. Much like the books, it reaches beyond its own story, weaving in connections to other King works. The introduction of Dick Hallorann and his abilities plays a major role here, and it is the kind of crossover that feels purposeful rather than gimmicky. If you are even slightly invested in this world, Welcome to Derry gives you plenty of reasons to stick around and see where it goes next, especially with a final episode that stands out as one of the best season finales I have seen in a long time.
All eight episodes of It: Welcome to Derry are streaming now on HBO Max, making this the perfect time to jump in. While a second season has not been officially greenlit yet, Andy Muschietti has already talked about a three-season plan, with each chapter going back another 27 years into Derry’s dark history. If that vision comes to life, we have a lot more of this twisted world left to explore, and honestly, that is pretty exciting.
