A curious twist of timing: Welcome To Derry and the latest season of Stranger Things are landing almost simultaneously. The new HBO series takes us back to the eerie American town of Derry in the 1960s, at the height of the Cold War. Inspired by the work of Stephen King, the show aims to explore the origins of It, the clown who terrified generations of children who ignored the “under 12 not allowed” warning attached to most adaptations. Before the recent films, a trilogy of TV movies aired in the 90s, ending with a finale that was, admittedly, a bit absurd. The series is showrun by Andy Muschietti, Barbara Muschietti, and Jason Fuchs, who already helmed the two latest feature films.
Welcome to Derry: when TV series recycle ideas too!
HBO has long been the sacred home of prestige television. It’s on HBO that the “modern series” was born, with Oz by Tom Fontana and The Wire by David Simon—shows where the showrunner’s artistic voice was central. The network also produced legendary titles like The Sopranos and Six Feet Under. Even the shift toward blockbuster-scale productions began there with Game of Thrones. But just like The Lord of the Rings, now turned into a series on Amazon Prime, or Dune with Dune: Prophecy, Welcome To Derry embraces a certain narrative convenience. Instead of exploring a new concept, the film’s creators opted for a prequel series. Beyond the decline of HBO, this tendency to overexploit a theme or character highlights how serialized storytelling—now a massive industry—has inherited both the strengths and flaws of big Hollywood franchises.
But not everything in Welcome to Derry is worth dismissing!
Welcome To Derry: a snapshot of small-town America in the 1960s
The show’s biggest achievement may be its portrayal—sometimes a bit heavy-handed, admittedly—of a small American town in the 60s. A quick historical reminder: the Cold War was raging, and the fight for civil rights was far from over. It still isn’t today. The first supposed “crimes” of Pennywise are almost automatically blamed on a member of the African-American community, who becomes a suspect throughout the story. Pennywise brings out the worst in everyone—not just racism. The series also offers a broader critique of violence, especially violence against children, from its very first moments through the story of Matty. It’s not far-fetched to see Pennywise as an allegory for violence itself.
The social backdrop of the 60s is well recreated, even if the show’s commentary sometimes borders on naivety for an HBO production—far from the raw power of The Wire or Treme. Still, it’s a deliberate choice: the series aims for mainstream appeal, reflecting HBO’s own evolution.
The cast of Welcome to Derry
The cast brings real dramatic depth thanks to their diverse backgrounds. Jovan Adepo, known for Watchmen and The Leftovers, delivers a powerful performance as a father confronted with Derry’s mysteries. Beside him, Taylour Paige—seen in Zola and Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom—brings emotional weight and authenticity. Chris Chalk, familiar with complex roles from Gotham and Perry Mason, adds subtle, layered acting to the universe. And of course, Bill Skarsgård returns as the iconic Pennywise, reaffirming his status as one of the top names in modern horror. Together, they form a strong, credible cast perfectly aligned with the dark and unsettling world of Stephen King.
Welcome To Derry: the endless loop
As viewers await the new Game of Thrones prequel, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, and the next season of House of the Dragon—and as some fans even call for a Freddy Krueger series—it feels like television has entered an era of endless repetition. As money and mainstream attention have poured into the format, the medium has become cyclical. Between prequels, spin-offs, and re-heated series like Ozark—which mirrors the structure of Breaking Bad—the genre that once seemed boundless in creativity now mirrors Hollywood’s blockbuster machine, repeating itself again and again. That’s the market’s logic.
