''It: Welcome to Derry'' is an upcoming American
supernatural horror television series based on
Stephen King
Stephen Edwin King (born September 21, 1947) is an American author. Dubbed the "King of Horror", he is widely known for his horror novels and has also explored other genres, among them Thriller (genre), suspense, crime fiction, crime, scienc ...
1986 novel ''
It'' and serving as a prequel to the films ''
It'' (2017) and ''
It Chapter Two
''It Chapter Two'' is a 2019 American supernatural horror film directed by Andy Muschietti from a screenplay by Gary Dauberman. It is the sequel to '' It'' (2017) and the second of a two-part adaptation of the 1986 novel '' It'' by Stephen Ki ...
'' (2019). The series was developed by
Andy Muschietti
Andrés Walter Muschietti (; born 26 August 1973) is an Argentine film director and screenwriter who had his breakthrough with the 2013 film ''Mama (2013 film), Mama''. He gained further recognition for directing both films in the It (novel), '' ...
,
Barbara Muschietti and
Jason Fuchs, all of whom were involved in the ''It'' films. It stars
Jovan Adepo,
Chris Chalk,
Taylour Paige,
James Remar, and
Stephen Rider
Stephen Rider (born September 25, 1979) is an American film and television actor. He is known for playing Admiral Stephen W. Rochon in the film '' The Butler'' (2013), Eric Millworth in the ABC series '' Lucky 7'' (2014) and Blake Tower in th ...
, with
Bill Skarsgård reprising his role as
Pennywise the Clown from the films.
The series is scheduled to be released in late 2025 on
HBO
Home Box Office (HBO) is an American pay television service, which is the flagship property of namesake parent-subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is based a ...
with nine episodes.
Cast
Main
*
Jovan Adepo
*
Chris Chalk
*
Taylour Paige
*
James Remar
*
Stephen Rider
Stephen Rider (born September 25, 1979) is an American film and television actor. He is known for playing Admiral Stephen W. Rochon in the film '' The Butler'' (2013), Eric Millworth in the ABC series '' Lucky 7'' (2014) and Blake Tower in th ...
*
Bill Skarsgård as
Pennywise the Clown
Recurring
* Dean Yool
*
Madeleine Stowe
* Alixandra Fuchs
*
Kimberly Norris Guerrero
*
Tyner Rushing
* Dorian Grey
* Thomas Mitchell
* BJ Harrison
*
Peter Outerbridge
Peter Outerbridge (born June 30, 1966) is a Canadian actor, best known for his role as Ari Tasarov in the The CW, CW action series ''Nikita (TV series), Nikita'', Dr. David Sandström in the The Movie Network, TMN series ''ReGenesis'', Henrik "Han ...
* Shane Marriott
* Chad Rook
*
Joshua Odjick
* Morningstar Angeline
*
Rudy Mancuso
Production
Development
In March 2022, ''
Variety'' reported that
Andy Muschietti
Andrés Walter Muschietti (; born 26 August 1973) is an Argentine film director and screenwriter who had his breakthrough with the 2013 film ''Mama (2013 film), Mama''. He gained further recognition for directing both films in the It (novel), '' ...
,
Barbara Muschietti and
Jason Fuchs were in development of and executive producing a prequel television series of ''
It'' (2017) for
HBO Max
Max (known in other countries as, and soon to be reverted globally to HBO Max) is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. It is a proprietary unit of Warner Bros. Discovery Streaming on behalf of Home Box Of ...
titled ''Welcome to Derry'', which takes place in the 1960s before the events of the film and will also include the
origin story
In fiction, an origin story is an account or backstory revealing how a character or group of people become a protagonist or antagonist.
In American comic books, it also refers to how characters gained their superpowers and/or the circumstances ...
of
Pennywise the Clown.
It received a production commitment in November 2022, and Fuchs and
Brad Caleb Kane were hired as co-showrunners.
In February 2023, the series was given the
greenlight
In the context of the film and television industries, to greenlight is to give permission to proceed with a project. It specifically refers to formally approving its production finance and committing to this financing, thereby allowing the projec ...
and was reported that Andy Muschietti would direct multiple episodes, including the pilot, with Fuchs serving as writer.
In April 2023,
Jovan Adepo,
Chris Chalk,
Taylour Paige and
James Remar joined the cast in starring roles.
Additionally,
Stephen Rider
Stephen Rider (born September 25, 1979) is an American film and television actor. He is known for playing Admiral Stephen W. Rochon in the film '' The Butler'' (2013), Eric Millworth in the ABC series '' Lucky 7'' (2014) and Blake Tower in th ...
joined as a series regular, and
Madeleine Stowe as a recurring guest.
Writing
In January 2025, in an interview with Radio TU, Andy Muschietti revealed details about the source material and longer term plans. He said that the series is based on interlude chapters from the ''It'' novel. He also said that three seasons are intended for the series, set in 1962, 1935, and 1908 respectively. "There’s a reason why the story is told backwards," he added.
Filming
Principal photography
Principal photography is the phase of producing a film or television show in which the bulk of shooting takes place, as distinct from the phases of pre-production and post-production.
Personnel
Besides the main film personnel, such as the ...
began in
Toronto
Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...
,
Hamilton
Hamilton may refer to:
* Alexander Hamilton (1755/1757–1804), first U.S. Secretary of the Treasury and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States
* ''Hamilton'' (musical), a 2015 Broadway musical by Lin-Manuel Miranda
** ''Hamilton'' (al ...
and
Port Hope in May 2023 under the shooting title ''Greetings from Fairview'', and was expected to continue through December.
Scenes were shot at the
Delta Secondary School.
In May 2024,
Bill Skarsgård was cast to star and executive produce the series, reprising his role as
Pennywise the Clown. It was also reported that series will consist of nine episodes, with Andy Muschietti directing the first four.
In June, Alixandra Fuchs,
Kimberly Guerrero, Dorian Grey, Thomas Mitchell, BJ Harrison,
Peter Outerbridge
Peter Outerbridge (born June 30, 1966) is a Canadian actor, best known for his role as Ari Tasarov in the The CW, CW action series ''Nikita (TV series), Nikita'', Dr. David Sandström in the The Movie Network, TMN series ''ReGenesis'', Henrik "Han ...
, Shane Marriott, Chad Rook,
Joshua Odjick, and Morningstar Angeline were cast in recurring capacities.
In July,
Rudy Mancuso joined the cast in a recurring role.
In mid-July, production was suspended due to the
SAG-AFTRA strike.
In August 2024, it was reported that production on the first season had wrapped,
and it was revealed that the series was titled ''It: Welcome to Derry''.
Release
''It: Welcome to Derry'' is scheduled to be released on
HBO
Home Box Office (HBO) is an American pay television service, which is the flagship property of namesake parent-subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is based a ...
in late 2025 with nine episodes.
It was previously slated to stream exclusively on
Max
Max or MAX may refer to:
Animals
* Max (American dog) (1983–2013), at one time purported to be the world's oldest living dog
* Max (British dog), the first pet dog to win the PDSA Order of Merit (animal equivalent of the OBE)
* Max (gorilla) ...
.
References
External links
*
{{HBONetwork Shows
2020s American horror television series
American prequel television series
American English-language television shows
It (novel)
Live action television shows based on films
HBO original programming
Television series about fictional serial killers
Television series by Warner Bros. Television Studios
Television shows affected by the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike
Television shows based on works by Stephen King
Television shows filmed in Toronto
Upcoming prequel television series
Upcoming American television series