The Derry Prequel Series Premieres Second Sooner Than Planned on the Streaming Platform

Excitement is building for the chilling show Welcome to Derry, which is garnering praise and incorporating themes from additional King stories. Just one day after launch, HBO announced that episode two will debut sooner than expected, released fittingly for October 31st.

Early Release Information

Beginning on Halloween night at midnight PT, the next part of It: Welcome to Derry will make its debut on HBO's online platform, ahead of its traditional TV airing. Future chapters of the show's first season will be released on Sunday nights on HBO and HBO Max, leading up to the final episode on Sunday, December 14.

Series Overview

Taking place within the Derry mythology, the new series is inspired by the original story while building upon the setting brought to life by filmmaker Andy Muschietti in the two It films. The original It centered on kids and teens confronting unimaginable horrors, making it appropriate that the series follows in those footsteps. However, the first installment of the HBO series demonstrates it intended to raise the stakes, offering more frightening moments than the cinematic versions and creating a dark atmosphere for the rest of the season.

Setting and Themes

Set in 1962, this show features a new generation of adults and children residing in a seemingly idyllic town masking a sinister core. Derry operates on a brutal, periodic loop—one marked by violence, bigotry, and the supernatural, as a evil entity reappears every 27 years. Even though the series 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 viewpoints of young and old simultaneously. Children remain particularly vulnerable to the monster's horror, but grown-ups aren’t spared dealing with their own nightmares born from Derry’s deep-seated bigotry and covert otherworldly powers.

Episode 2 airs on Halloween at midnight PT.