HBO’s It: Welcome to Derry opens its doors with a cold, confident premiere set in 1962 Derry, Maine, positioning itself as a direct companion to Andy Muschietti’s films while widening the lens on Stephen King’s mythology. The hour establishes a grounded human story first, then lets the horror bloom, with Bill Skarsgård slipping back into Pennywise like he never left. It’s atmospheric, slickly made, and genuinely nasty in spots, even if the setup-heavy pacing keeps some threads from fully landing yet.
The episode wastes no time announcing its tone. The much-teased opening is an explicit piece of body horror that is equal parts spectacle and warning label. It’s designed to tell you no one is safe in this version of Derry, and it does the job. Later, a climactic set piece in a movie theater spikes the dread again and underlines the show’s commitment to practical scares and in-camera tension. If the feature films were about the rush of fear, the series leans into the crawl of it.
Where the premiere really works is with its point of view. Centering on U.S. Air Force Major Leroy Hanlon (Jovan Adepo) and Charlotte Hanlon (Taylour Paige) gives the story a lived-in anchor. The show doesn’t treat the civil rights era as window dressing; the microaggressions and institutional pressure that follow the Hanlons shape the horror, making Derry’s rot feel systemic rather than incidental. That frame dovetails with the canon history of the Black Spot and adds weight to how this town breeds monsters long before the clown smiles.
Longtime King fans will clock another familiar presence: Dick Hallorann, here played by Chris Chalk. Using Hallorann to stitch together King’s worlds is smart and, at least in the premiere, not just fan service. Chalk plays him gentle and wary, and his scenes hint at a wider map of the supernatural in New England. The script keeps his role pointed but mysterious, and that restraint makes his appearances pop.
Production-wise, the show looks expensive in the right ways. The period detail feels tactile, the color palette sits in that humid Maine twilight, and the locations carry the franchise’s recognizable geometry. Returning to Port Hope, Ontario, keeps visual continuity with the films, which quietly sells the idea that we’re walking the same haunted streets at a different time.
So why a 7 and not higher? The premiere is still doing a lot of table-setting. Several teen characters arrive in quick succession, and while a few moments land, their voices haven’t separated yet. Some dialogue leans on underlined exposition. And the episode’s strongest jolts bookend a middle stretch that occasionally feels like it is waiting for the next big beat. None of that breaks the spell, but it does keep the hour just shy of great.
Even so, It: Welcome to Derry makes a clear case for itself. It honors the films, borrows the novel’s tapestry approach, and adds a sharper social frame that suits the era. If the show can maintain this craft while deepening its ensemble, Derry has plenty of dark left to uncover.
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