For decades, Stephen King’s IT has terrified readers and viewers with its mythology, its cosmic horror, and its chilling portrait of a town consumed by evil. But HBO’s IT: Welcome to Derry takes audiences somewhere they’ve never been: backwards in time, into a younger Derry, where fear isn’t just a parasite — it’s a weapon.
Set in 1962, at the height of Cold War dread, the prequel series follows a new generation of characters trapped in a fresh cycle of horror. Nuclear panic, paranoia, and racial tensions swirl around a town that already hides something monstrous beneath its surface. And according to showrunners Jason Fuchs and Brad Caleb Kane, the season is only the beginning of a larger, carefully planned mythology.
As Kane notes,
“Don’t get too cozy with anybody because nobody is safe in this show.”
A Season Built on the Weaponization of Fear
At its core, Welcome to Derry is about how fear becomes a tool — and a trap.
Fuchs explains:
“This is a story about how IT uses fear against the people of Derry. IT makes people think they’re alone in their struggle. That’s the weapon.”
The creators wanted to honor the book’s most powerful themes, especially the idea that fear causes division, isolation, and vulnerability. By setting the show in the early 1960s — a time when Americans feared nuclear annihilation, political collapse, and social unrest — the show gains a thematic potency that feels painfully relevant in 2025.
Kane elaborates:
“The fears of 1962 were very different from 1989. It wasn’t an Age of Innocence. It only looked like one.”
How ‘Welcome to Derry’ Connects to Stephen King’s IT Timeline?
| Year | Story Focus | IT Cycle Connection |
|---|---|---|
| 1962 | Welcome to Derry | New cycle; Cold War themes |
| 1989 | IT (2017 film) | Losers Club children’s cycle |
| 2016 | IT Chapter Two | Losers Club adult cycle |
| Prehistoric | Book mythology | IT’s arrival from macroverse |
The series fills in the spaces King left open — the early cycles no one has seen before.
How does the Show’s Anthology Structure Builds a Larger Mythology?
One of the most surprising creative choices is that the series works backwards across IT’s 27-year cycles, exploring different eras and different victims.
Fuchs says the team asked an early creative question:
“If the show moves backward each season, what creates the sense of forward momentum?”
The answer lies in a hidden logic behind Pennywise’s consistency — a mythology that will unfold slowly across multiple seasons if HBO renews the series.
While Season 1 offers only hints, the creators reveal that there is:
- A reason the story is being told in reverse
- A mythology connecting each period
- A narrative spine that will come together over time
But for now, Welcome to Derry is focused on 1962 — and the people trapped in IT’s cycle long before the Losers Club ever faced him.
Exploring Pennywise’s Origins: Why the Entity Stays in Derry
Kane says the writers were fascinated by a central question:
If IT feeds on fear, and fear exists everywhere, why stay in Derry?
He explains:
“There’s a lot of fear in the world. There are denser hunting grounds. So why does this creature stay here?”
The answers involve:
- The original inhabitants of Derry
- The town’s long history of violence
- The entity’s territorial instinct
- The symbiotic relationship between IT and the town
This also deepens the show’s exploration of evil itself.
Kane continues:
“Evil is perennial. Evil will always be here. Kids will always have to face it. You can’t destroy it — you can learn to contain it.”
These themes position Welcome to Derry not just as a horror story but a story of generational trauma.
Why Pennywise Looks Like a Clown — And The Mystery of Bob Gray?
Another mystery the show confronts:
Why does IT repeatedly choose the form of Pennywise the Dancing Clown?
Fuchs says the books leave this deliberately vague:
“How did IT first encounter Bob Gray? Why this clown? Why does he come back to this form, cycle after cycle?”
The show explores:
- IT’s shapeshifting limits
- Its fascination with laughter and innocence
- The origins of the Pennywise persona
- Its connection to a real human named Bob Gray
But there’s another reason fans are excited: Bill Skarsgård’s transformation.
Fuchs praises the actor’s range:
“Bill goes places with this performance we haven’t seen before. It’s a totally different approach to Pennywise.”
Core Themes Explored in ‘IT: Welcome to Derry’
| Theme | How It Appears in the Series | Why It Matters |
|---|---|---|
| Weaponization of Fear | IT isolates victims, fuels paranoia | Central to King’s book |
| Cycles of Evil | 27-year recurring terror | Expands mythology |
| Cold War Anxiety | Nuclear threat, political fear | Era-specific grounding |
| Intergenerational Trauma | Families repeat patterns | Modern thematic relevance |
| Identity of Pennywise | Bob Gray backstory | Answers book’s mysteries |
| Community Corruption | Derry protects the entity | Ties to King’s lore |
Brutal Twists, Shocking Deaths, and No Safe Characters
From the disturbing car sequence in Episode 1 to the theater massacre, the showrunners designed a season where death is unpredictable.
Fuchs explains:
“Very early, we established that there are no rules. No one is safe. Anything can happen.”
The goal is to mirror the book’s unsettling tone, where Derry itself feels predatory.
Kane adds:
“We wanted the audience to love these characters — and then fear for them. That uncertainty is the heart of the series.”
This aligns with the long-form storytelling approach: the audience must stay invested because they know anything can happen.
FAQs
Not fully. The show reveals key pieces but saves deeper mythology for future seasons.
Yes. And according to the showrunners, he explores the role in new, unexpected ways.
It expands on book mythology but also fills gaps and introduces original elements.
Yes. The show is designed as a reverse-time anthology exploring earlier cycles.
It aligns with IT’s earlier cycle and allows the writers to explore Cold War-era fears.
