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Audiences are thrilled for the Stephen King adaptation Welcome to Derry, which is receiving positive feedback and drawing from elements from additional King stories. Following the premiere, HBO has revealed that the next chapter will debut sooner than expected, timed perfectly for Halloween.

Early Release Information

Kicking off on October 31 at 12 a.m. Pacific Time, the next part of Welcome to Derry will premiere on HBO's online platform, ahead of its Sunday HBO premiere. Future chapters of the eight-episode season will premiere on Sunday nights on both HBO and its streaming arm, building toward the concluding chapter on the 14th of December.

Show Background

Based in the Derry mythology, the new series is inspired by the classic book while enlarging the setting established by director Andy Muschietti in the two It films. It Chapter One focused on young characters battling terrifying threats, thus it's suitable that the prequel upholds that legacy. However, the premiere episode of the HBO series shows it aimed to raise the stakes, delivering even more intense scares than Muschietti’s films and creating a harsh vibe for the rest of the season.

Setting and Themes

Taking place in the 1960s, the series features a new generation of grown-ups and kids inhabiting a apparently peaceful community concealing a evil heart. The town follows a brutal, periodic loop—one marked by hostility, discrimination, and otherworldly forces, as a monstrous presence resurfaces once every three decades. Even though It: Welcome to Derry might appear like it strays too near to the films initially, what distinguishes the HBO Max series is its two-sided viewpoint—told from the eyes of both children and adults simultaneously. The kids stay particularly vulnerable to the entity's fear, but grown-ups also face confronting their individual fears born from Derry’s deep-seated bigotry and covert otherworldly powers.

The series debuts on the 31st of October at 3 a.m. EST.