It: Welcome to Derry (HBOMax)
Scary and nuanced, It: Welcome to Derry is one of the best rides on TV right now
What is it? In 1962, a couple with their son moves to Derry, Maine, just as a young boy disappears. With their arrival, very bad things begin to happen in the town.
Watch if you like: It, Watchmen, Stranger Things, Lovecraft Country, The Outsider
Schmear’s Verdict: Creepy, confident, and surprisingly fun, It: Welcome to Derry is a throwback horror series that knows how to scare and entertain in equal measure.
As a Stranger Things detractor, I wasn’t exactly poised to enjoy It: Welcome to Derry—but three episodes in, I’m extremely impressed. The It movies from Warner Bros. are uneven. The first is fun; the second is pretty terrible. Between that and my skepticism toward kid-centric horror nostalgia, my expectations for the new HBO series were low.
What I didn’t anticipate was how intoxicating this show’s Pleasantville-meets-Cold-War-paranoia atmosphere would be. Set in 1962 Derry, Maine, it follows a group of kids tormented by a demonic force that manifests their worst fears.
Director Andy Muschietti (who directed both It films) and showrunners Jason Fuchs and Brad Kane keep things inventive, gory, and surprisingly harrowing. The show feels like a ride—one that goes on just a little longer than you want, in the best way. When it leans on practical effects—a supermarket scare involving pickles, a bed frame turning murderous—it’s genuinely terrifying. The CGI, though, dulls the edge and drains the fear.
The cast is a major strength. The kids hold their own, but the adults are even more compelling. Jovan Adepo and Taylour Paige play a couple who’ve moved from Louisiana, carrying with them echoes of the Jim Crow South, reverberating ever northward. Chris Chalk is terrific as Dick Halloran. Racial tension quietly pulses through the show, giving it unexpected depth and urgency.
You can feel writer and consulting producer Cord Jefferson’s touch throughout. His presence brings sharper sensitivity to the show’s racial and social dynamics—recalling HBO’s Watchmen or Lovecraft Country and how intelligent those series were about race. Welcome to Derry isn’t quite at that level of sophistication, but it’s reaching for something similar, layering meaning beneath the scares.
Three episodes in, we’re still waiting for Pennywise. The sustained dread and inventiveness make it hard to complain, but I’m ready to meet the big man. I usually appreciate restraint, but it’s time for the rubber to meet the road.
It: Welcome to Derry is that rare horror show that’s actually scary—a turn-the-lights-off kind of series that also has something on its mind. Against my biases, I am looking forward to riding this ride each week.
