Pennywise Returns! IT: WELCOME TO DERRY Officially Renewed for Season 2
HBO has officially renewed It: Welcome to Derry for Season 2, bringing the Stephen King prequel series back for another trip into the horrifying history of the most cursed town in Maine.
The renewal had been expected for some time, with HBO reportedly waiting for the creative direction of the new season to come together before making the announcement. It was really only a matter of time, especially considering how well the series performed.
I’m just happy HBO finally made it official because there’s a lot more twisted Derry history for this show to dig into. There’s also a change at the top. Brad Caleb Kane, who co-showran Season 1 with Jason Fuchs, will serve as the sole showrunner for Season 2.
The series was developed as an expansion of the world established in Stephen King’s It and Andy Muschietti’s two It movies. Rather than revisiting Pennywise and familiar territory, Welcome to Derry has been digging into the town’s violent past and the evil that has been feeding on it for generations.
Season 2 will take the story back to 1935 during the Great Depression and center on the bloody massacre of the Bradley Gang. The group of bank robbers stops in Derry to purchase ammunition, only to find themselves caught up in the kind of nightmare that could only happen in this town.
That setting should give the series plenty of room to explore another ugly chapter of Derry’s history while building out more of the mythology surrounding Pennywise.
Sarah Aubrey, Head of HBO Max Original Programming, said: We are excited to return to the chilling world of Derry and to further expand on Andy and Barbara Muschietti’s horrifically iconic adaptation. Together with Brad Caleb Kane, they will break new ground in season two, deepening the terror, the mystery, and the unforgettable Pennywise lore that fans love to devour.”
Clancy Collins White, Warner Bros. Television’s President of Creative Affairs, added: “We know It: Welcome to Derry will continue to captivate viewers with its spine-tingling new journey into the 1930s for Season 2. We look forward to bringing fans back to the town of Derry to experience the next chapter and uncover even more of what lies beneath the surface.”
Andy Muschietti and Barbara Muschietti are clearly having a great time playing around in King’s nightmare sandbox as well. The filmmakers said:
“Continuing to explore and expand on the amazing world Stephen King created is an absolute privilege. The support of our partners at HBO and Warner Bros. Television is priceless. Boy do we love our jobs!”
There’s a pretty good reason HBO wants to keep the nightmare going. Since premiering last October, It: Welcome to Derry has become one of the top four series premieres globally in HBO Max history.
Bill Skarsgård also returned to reprise his role as Pennywise, the terrifying clown he previously played in Muschietti’s It films. Season 1 featured Skarsgård alongside Jovan Adepo, Taylour Paige, James Remar, and several other cast members.
Andy and Barbara Muschietti will executive produce Season 2 through their Double Dream banner alongside Kane, Roy Lee, Dan Lin, Jamie Travis, and Dhana Gilbert. The series is produced by HBO and Warner Bros. Television.
The move to 1935 is what has me especially excited about Season 2. One of the coolest things about Welcome to Derry is that the concept allows the creators to move backward through the town’s history and explore different periods when Pennywise’s influence erupted into violence.
I’m so excited to see how this next chapter plays out. If Season 1 was only the beginning of the series’ exploration of Derry’s past, there are still plenty of disturbing stories waiting to be uncovered.