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It: Welcome to Derry

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Photo: Brooke Palmer/HBO

“Intent on building upon what is arguably Stephen King’s definitive novel, It: Welcome to Derry arrives with expansionary ambition. Positioned as a prequel to Andy Muschietti’s recent film duology, the series fits neatly into HBO’s modern mandate under Warner Bros. Discovery to play the franchise game. This context doesn’t automatically make it a drag. So far, the prestige-TV standard-bearer has a decent track record of eking creative life out of similar endeavors: Peacemaker may have ended up marooned in its service to the James Gunn DC-verse, but HBO still pulled off The Penguin, a spinoff set within the Matt Reeves capsule Batman franchise that stood splendidly on its own.

Developed by Muschietti and his sister, Barbara, alongside showrunners Jason Fuchs and Brad Caleb Kane, Welcome to Derry, sadly, never quite ends up finding that spark. Too tightly bound to its corporate brief, it loses itself in the sewers of an expanding universe.” — “Give Welcome to Derry This: It Has a Killer First Episode” by Nicholas Quah

  1. Episode 8 Winter Fire
    It: Welcome to Derry Season-Finale Recap: Frozen Empire Even with the limitations of the It films hanging over the finale, Welcome to Derry manages to deliver a satisfying end to the season.
  2. Episode 7 The Black Spot
    It: Welcome to Derry Recap: Ashes to Ashes Ingrid’s long-awaited reunion with Pennywise isn’t what she thought it would be.
  3. Episode 6 In the Name of the Father
    It: Welcome to Derry Recap: Daddy Issues This week’s lack of action and focus on backstory delivers little excitement but a massive character reveal.
  4. Episode 5 Neibolt Street
    It: Welcome to Derry Recap: Tunnel Vision This week’s ill-advised plan to rescue their friend from the sewers is what the series needed to finally move the story forward.
  5. Episode 4 The Great Swirling Apparatus of Our Planet’s Function
    It: Welcome to Derry Recap: Origin Story This week, we get perhaps the most horrifying scene of the series so far, and It’s origin story is passed down by Derry’s Indigenous peoples.
  6. Episode 3 Now You See It
    It: Welcome to Derry Recap: Seeing Is Believing The series keeps pulling back each time it comes agonizingly close to showing Pennywise. Just let us see the clown already!
  7. Episode 2 The Thing in the Dark
    It: Welcome to Derry Recap: Buried Past A second episode heavy on introductions and reveals makes for a muddled hour, despite some real bright spots.
  8. Episode 1 The Pilot
    It: Welcome to Derry Series-Premiere Recap: We’ve Got Trouble After hitting several familiar It beats, the first episode delivers a stunning bait and switch.

More on It: Welcome to Derry

  1. lingering questions
    Is It: Welcome to Derry a Show About Time Travel Now?The season finale leaves Marge, and us, with some big questions about what comes next — before? — for the show.
    By Louis Peitzman
  2. finale thoughts
    Taylour Paige Wanted Charlotte to Get the Hell Out of Derry, Too“I just don’t see her out of her own volition wanting to stay,” says the It: Welcome to Derry star.
    By Louis Peitzman
  3. chat room
    Chris Chalk Knows His Dick Hallorann Isn’t a Nice Person Yet“He likes to pretend he is in charge, but ultimately, under no circumstance is he the boss of this moment,” says the IT: Welcome to Derry star.
    By Roxana Hadadi
  4. close read
    It: Welcome to Derry Delivers a Mother of a NightmareTV’s fixation with gruesome childbirth gets a horrifying new spin in the latest episode’s standout sequence.
    By Roxana Hadadi
  5. tv review
    Give Welcome to Derry This: It Has a Killer First EpisodeUnfortunately, what follows soon deflates into an ungainly blob of franchise-building obligation.
    By Nicholas Quah
  6. clowning around
    Bill Skarsgård
    Bill Skarsgård Is Doing It AgainHe’s set to reprise his role as Pennywise in Welcome to Derry, Max’s It prequel series.
    By Jennifer Zhan
  7. coming to a sewer near you
    No, It Isn’t Coming After the Derry GirlsHBO Max’s It prequel series Welcome to Derry has welcomed its first cast members.
    By Wolfgang Ruth

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