It: Welcome to Derry Season 1 Review

It: Welcome to Derry (2025-)

Season 1 - 8 episodes (2025)
Watch the trailer
Created by: Jason Fuchs, Andy Muschietti, Barbara Muschietti
Starring: Taylour Paige, Jovan Adepo, Blake Cameron James, Chris Chalk, James Remar, Stephen Rider, Madeleine Stowe, Rudy Mancuso, Clara Stack, Amanda Christine, Mikkal Karim-Fidler, Bill Skarsgård
Rated: TV-MA

Plot
In 1962, a couple and their son move to Derry, Maine just as a young boy disappears. With their arrival, very bad things begin to happen in the town.

Verdict
The first episode is a showcase of horror and gore that is more indulgent that vital to the story. I like the core premise, children fighting off the monster as well as the military trying to weaponize it. Some episodes do a great job of developing the relationships of adults and children, but other episodes feel like filler when this tries to explain too much. It did fine establishing why Pennywise exists, but the show didn't need to go further. The finale is only adequate. While it wraps up the story in 1962, it's too typical and predictable.
It depends.

Review
Based on Stephen King's 1986 novel It, this series is the prequel to the films It (2017) and It Chapter Two (2019). The creators have a three season arc planned with this season occurring in 1962, a second season taking place in1935, and the third season set in 1908. As of right now, a second season has not been confirmed.

The first episode is a wild ride. It's light on story and development while heavy on the horror with a winged mutant baby. I wasn't sure where this show would go, though I didn't think it could do eight episodes of this and remain engaging. The first episode eliminates half of what I thought would be the potential cast as it ends up being the shock to start the season and kick off the story. After that this focuses on children in Derry being targeted by an unseen force and a military operation searching for a weapon. If you guess those are one and the same, you're correct.

The second episode introduces Dick Halloran (Chris Chalk), the same Halloran from The Shining. It's a nice nod to King's work which often features overlapping worlds. He's working for the military to locate this entity.

After episode one Ronnie's (Amanda Christine) dad is being charged with murder. With no other suspects, the police are forcing the narrative to fit. Lilly (Clara Stack) hides the truth, terrified of going back to the asylum. The police are happy to point her in the 'right' direction. The truth does sound like a hallucination. Both Ronnie and Lilly have their own waking nightmares that seem related to the traumatic experience.

Jovan Adepo, Chris Chalk play Leroy Hanlon, Dick Halloran

Meanwhile Air Force pilot Leroy Hanlon (Jovan Adepo) and his family have just moved to Derry. He's attacked in the middle of the night but fights them off. He finds the likely suspect but is convinced it wasn't that man. It turns out it was a test from the General who needs someone honorable and fearless for a mission. Leroy passed, and he's the grandfather of Mike from It (2017). The military knows about Pennywise, at least the concept, and they want to use it as a weapon. Well, that's their intention.

The second episode is much better. The first is all prologue, where the second starts the story proper.

The military is using Halloran to find "it" with Hanlon flying him around. I like the inclusion of a military operation as we don't need another battle between monster and children. The children attempt to get proof the monster exists, but that doesn't amount to much.

Amanda Christine, Clara Stack, Arian S. Cartaya, Blake Cameron James play 
Ronnie, Lilly, Rich, Will

Hanlon's son Will is attacked during a fishing trip. With that and having seen Halloran at work, Hanlon has to know something bad is in Derry. We learn that this monster has cosmic origins, having been around for a long time. Native American's constructed thirteen pillars to trap the evil spirit in the woods. While the show had an uneven start, episode four might be the best yet. It's a nice balance between lore, horrors, and tension.

In episode five the military is ready to capture 'it.' I didn't see that going well. Halloran interrogates Rose for an exact location using his abilities. Hanlon, now aware of this things capabilities, is mad the General let him move his family into the town. The kids and the military enter the sewers; the kids to save their friends and the military to capture 'it.' Lily finds a shard of pillar that Rose dropped, and that stops Pennywise from attacking her.

Episode six and seven feel like delays in the military mission of finding Pennywise. We learn why Pennywise is a clown, but it's unnecessary. I don't need all the answers and prefer leaving some mystery. While episode seven involves a tragedy, it seems like the show is going big when it could go small and show us how Pennywise attacks the kids through dreams and visions to increase fear, both the characters and the audience. Finally the military make their move which of course spells doom.

Clara Stack,Blake Cameron James, Amanda Christine play Lilly, Will, Ronnie

In the finale, the adults must team up to stop Pennywise as the children have already planned an attack. It feels like a finale, but it's also predictable. Everyone descends on one location with the military wanting to capture and use Pennywise. How they don't realize their mistake when they see him unleashed is ridiculous. When you see this clown, how could you ever think you could control it? The military should have realized their mistake and in turn helped everyone to stop Pennywise. It's a predictable conclusion.

While the IT title provides name recognition, it also leads the show to spending extra time to make Pennywise fit the story and explain his entire history. I like the cosmic background, I don't need the explanation for why it's a clown. I'd cut that and streamline the show. This can be over indulgent on goriness. I expected to see more scenes of Pennywise stalking the children, these small unnerving moments, but that never happens. We get a few over the top nightmares in the beginning, and that's it. I did enjoy the callbacks and connections to other media.