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Excitement is building for the chilling show It: Welcome to Derry, already garnering praise and drawing from themes from the broader King universe. Now, the broadcaster declared that episode two will premiere ahead of schedule, released fittingly for October 31st.

Schedule Change Particulars

Kicking off on Halloween night at 12 a.m. Pacific Time, the next part of the Derry prequel will premiere on the streaming service, ahead of its linear broadcast. Future chapters of the eight-episode season will continue to air on the weekend on the network and streaming service, leading up to the final episode on December 14th.

Show Background

Based in the world of King's It, the new series draws from the original story while enlarging the universe brought to life by the It movie director in It and It Chapter Two. The first It movie centered on adolescents confronting terrifying threats, so it’s fitting that this show upholds that legacy. Yet, the debut of the streaming show demonstrates it set out to escalate the fear, delivering even more intense scares than the cinematic versions and setting a harsh vibe for the rest of the season.

Setting and Themes

Taking place in the 1960s, the series features a fresh cast of grown-ups and kids residing in a outwardly charming locale masking a evil heart. This place functions through a vicious, repeating pattern—characterized by aggression, prejudice, and paranormal events, as a monstrous presence reappears every 27 years. Although It: Welcome to Derry might seem like it skews too close to the films on the surface, what distinguishes the HBO Max series is its parallel storytelling—told from the eyes of both children and adults simultaneously. Younger characters stay highly exposed to the entity's fear, but older characters aren’t spared confronting their individual fears stemming from local discrimination and lurking supernatural forces.

It: Welcome to Derry debuts on October 31 at 12 a.m. Pacific Time.