IT: Welcome to Derry (2025) Series - Population: Trauma

In 1962, a couple with their son move to Derry, Maine just as a young boy disappears. With their arrival, very bad things begin to happen in the town.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oKa6u7LT0qE

There are towns you pass through… and then there’s Derry, Maine - a place so cursed it makes Twin Peaks look like a Bed & Breakfast with gluten-free muffins. IT: Welcome to Derry doesn’t just revisit the Stephen King sandbox; it digs a deeper hole, climbs in, and politely asks you to join it while whispering, “Don’t worry, this won’t hurt. Much.”

Right out of the gate, the show leans hard into throwback storytelling, and I mean that as a compliment. The sets, the cars, the clothes - it’s like someone dumped a box of 1962 America on the floor and said, “Let’s make this nostalgic… but unsettling.” The production design is doing Olympic-level work here. You can practically smell the cigarette smoke, Aqua Net, and unresolved trauma.

And then there’s Pennywise. Yes, that Pennywise. The red-ballooned HR violation himself. Bill Skarsgård returns with the kind of performance that reminds you why he was hesitant to put the greasepaint back on. This isn’t a “hey remember the clown?” cameo machine. When he appears, it matters. Until then, the show flirts with some aggressively weird imagery - sometimes intriguing, sometimes… indulgent - like it’s trying to warm up before letting the franchise mascot out of the sewer.

What Welcome to Derry does best is explore the idea that the town itself is the monster. Evil here isn’t just supernatural; it’s systemic, inherited, and politely ignored at town meetings. That slow-burn psychological horror is where the show shines - the unspoken social tensions, the “we don’t talk about that” energy, the feeling that something is deeply wrong but no one wants to be the first person to say it out loud. That’s classic King, and it lands.

Die-hard fans will also enjoy the Stephen King cinematic universe elbow nudges. No spoilers, but if you’ve spent decades connecting red string between King novels like a caffeinated conspiracy theorist, there are moments that’ll make you lean forward and squint knowingly. Derry isn’t done telling stories - and with the plan being three seasons, each in a different era, this thing has legs. Creepy, sewer-dwelling legs.

Now… let’s talk about the stuff that didn’t quite stick the landing.

There’s a lot of grossness early on, dropped with all the subtlety of a horror show yelling, “SEE? IT’S SCARY.” Some of it feels unearned - like the show is skipping emotional buildup and jumping straight to shock value. Also, the non-linear storytelling can feel like three separate shows elbowing each other for screen time. At points I wanted to grab the writers gently by the collar and say, “Pick a lane. Or at least signal before changing.”

And yes - the birthing scenes. I don’t know who decided horror audiences needed that much commitment to biological realism, but… noted. Derry, you didn’t need to go that hard.

There’s also a modern tendency to layer in messaging that feels less like storytelling and more like a syllabus. Social commentary is fine - King’s work has always had it - but when it stops feeling organic, it pulls you out of the nightmare. Horror works best when the metaphor sneaks up on you, not when it taps the mic first.

That said - none of this breaks the show. It complicates it. And honestly, I’d rather watch a horror series that swings big and occasionally overreaches than one that plays it safe and forgettable.

Behind the scenes, it’s fascinating to know that Skarsgård initially hesitated to return, acknowledging the toll of living inside characters this dark. His eventual return - driven by interest in exploring Pennywise as Bob Gray - pays off. This isn’t repetition; it’s excavation.

Even Stephen King himself gave the project his blessing, calling it a continuation of Derry’s haunted legacy and cheering on Andy and Barbara Muschietti for keeping the red balloons floating. That’s not nothing. King doesn’t hand out those quotes like Halloween candy.

So where does that leave us?

IT: Welcome to Derry isn’t perfect. It’s messy, ambitious, occasionally indulgent, and sometimes forgets that restraint is scarier than spectacle. But it’s also confident, stylish, and deeply committed to expanding one of horror’s most iconic settings without cheapening it.

Derry lives.

And it still doesn’t want you there.

Final Ranking:

6.5 / 10 🎈

(Strong atmosphere, great performances, uneven pacing, but enough promise to keep the porch light on for future seasons.)