IT: Welcome to Derry premieres on HBO: a darker, bloodier Stranger Things

HBO and HBO Max’s eight-episode IT prequel, IT: Welcome to Derry, ran from October 26 to December 14, 2025. It didn’t take long for people to compare it to Netflix’s Stranger Things: kids up against an ancient supernatural evil, a small town full of dark secrets, and a story built on dread.

And if Stranger Things crossed your mind while watching, that tracks. The overlap is real: kids confronting something old and monstrous, period atmosphere, trauma, psychological terror, and a town hiding rot under the surface. But HBO takes that setup somewhere meaner. The show leans harder into horror-thriller territory, with more dread, more violence, more paranoia, and a strong sense that Derry itself is contaminated, not softened by humor, coming-of-age beats, or any Spielberg-style sense of wonder.

This time the story heads back to the 1960s and digs into Pennywise’s origins and the curse hanging over Derry. The nostalgia is still there, but it’s used as a horror tool, much less playful and far more oppressive.

Andy Muschietti, Barbara Muschietti, and Jason Fuchs developed the series, and Bill Skarsgård returns as Pennywise while also serving as an executive producer, which ties the show closely to the recent films.

If you like the small-town supernatural setup but want something nastier, sadder, and more committed to horror, this one’s probably for you.

Season 1 was generally well received, and the later episodes pulled stronger IMDb scores. HBO renewed IT: Welcome to Derry in August 2026 for season 2, part of a three-season plan that moves backward through Derry’s history in 27-year jumps. Season 2 is set in 1935, during the Great Depression.