# IT: Welcome to Derry (2025)

> In 1962 Derry, misfit kids and townspeople uncover an ancient evil behind a wave of child disappearances while a U.S. military operation schemes to exploit the town.

Canonical page: https://ember.film/tv/124323

## Facts

- Seasons: 2
- Episodes: 8
- Episode runtime: 62 min
- Status: Returning Series
- Genres: horror, drama, mystery
- Created by: Andy Muschietti, Barbara Muschietti, Jason Fuchs
- Network: HBO
- Cast: Taylour Paige, Jovan Adepo, James Remar, Stephen Rider, Matilda Lawler, Amanda Christine, Clara Stack, Blake Cameron James
- TMDB rating: 7.9/10
- IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt19244304/

## Ember's analysis

- Pacing: measured
- Intensity: strong
- Complexity: layered
- Violence: moderate
- Tone: eerie, foreboding, dread-filled, grim, unsettling

## What critics say

Reviews are divided, with the audience rating positive, praising the acting and production values while some critics fault its tone and monster effects.

## Synopsis

Welcome to Derry (2025-present) is an HBO horror and mystery drama series created by Andy Muschietti, Barbara Muschietti and Jason Fuchs, a prequel set in the Stephen King It universe. Set in 1962 Derry, Maine, the story follows misfit kids and a group of townspeople, including Charlotte Hanlon (Taylour Paige) and Leroy Hanlon (Jovan Adepo), as a spate of unexplained child disappearances stirs a long-buried ancient evil. The engine of the show is the children's determination to learn what is really lurking beneath the town, while adults work to restore peace and a U.S. military operation pursues its own ambitions in Derry. James Remar plays General Francis Shaw, whose presence adds institutional menace. The first season is a single eight-episode run with a one-hour runtime, a serialized mystery that layers small town secrets and generational dread. Its mood is eerie, foreboding and dread-filled, with a folk horror sensibility built from whispers, unsettling imagery and rising unease rather than constant spectacle. Viewers of Castle Rock, Twin Peaks and Stranger Things will find a similar blend of Stephen King atmosphere, small town secrets and childhood fear. Its atmosphere rests on period texture and slow accumulated dread across a town that feels both ordinary and cursed.

## Shows like IT: Welcome to Derry

- [Stephen King's Kingdom Hospital (2004)](https://ember.film/tv/1521)
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- [Castle Rock (2018)](https://ember.film/tv/62137)
- [Midnight Mass (2021)](https://ember.film/tv/82095)
- [The Institute (2025)](https://ember.film/tv/168354)
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- [Lovecraft Country (2020)](https://ember.film/tv/70709)
- [Hemlock Grove (2013)](https://ember.film/tv/38657)
- [The Stand (2020)](https://ember.film/tv/73372)

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