HBO has renewed It: Welcome to Derry for a second season, bringing Pennywise and the cursed town of Derry back for another chapter in Stephen King’s horror universe.
The renewal follows a strong debut for the series, which became one of HBO Max’s four biggest global series launches. Creators Andy and Barbara Muschietti had also previously indicated that Derry’s history could support further stories.
What is It: Welcome to Derry about?
It: Welcome to Derry serves as a prequel to Andy Muschietti’s films It and It: Chapter Two. Rather than retelling those movies, the series explores the town’s earlier tragedies and the supernatural presence connected to them.
The first season is set in 1962, 27 years before the events of the first It film. A new group of children investigates disappearances and other frightening incidents, while Leroy Hanlon, played by Jovan Adepo, Charlotte Hanlon, played by Taylour Paige, and Dick Hallorann, played by Chris Chalk, become involved in a military effort to study and potentially weaponise the force beneath Derry.
That force eventually appears in its most recognisable form: Pennywise, again portrayed by Bill Skarsgård.
The television format gives the story more time to examine both its young characters and the wider community. Pennywise’s influence reaches beyond individual victims, shaping the town and the people living in it.
The first season was praised for expanding Derry’s mythology, using its ensemble cast effectively and giving the story room that the films could not. Its coming-of-age elements also recalled the appeal of the 2017 film and the first season of Stranger Things.
Season 2 travels back to 1935
The next season will move 27 years further into the past, from 1962 to 1935, during the Great Depression. HBO’s renewal announcement says the story will focus on the Bradley Gang massacre.
The Bradley Gang are bank robbers who arrive in Derry intending to purchase ammunition, only to encounter a far more dangerous horror. The incident comes from King’s It, which connects the gang’s massacre with the historical atrocities surrounding Pennywise’s recurring appearances in Derry.
The gang was already foreshadowed in season 1 through the opening credits and a vintage car linked to the criminals, which Hallorann discovers.
Cast and release information
HBO has not confirmed the season 2 cast, including whether Bill Skarsgård will officially return as Pennywise. The character’s importance to Derry’s story means the supernatural entity will still have a significant role, even though further casting details remain unannounced.
There is also no announced release date for It: Welcome to Derry season 2.
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