“IT: WELCOME TO DERRY” Season 2 Officially Renewed by HBO

It was only a matter of time. If HBO had passed on a second season of IT: WELCOME TO DERRY, we would have started wondering if Pennywise himself had somehow gotten into the HBO offices and convinced everyone to keep the story buried. Thankfully, that nightmare isn’t happening because HBO has officially renewed the series for Season 2, meaning there is plenty more terror waiting for us in Derry.

The first season proved that audiences were more than ready to return to Stephen King’s most infamous little corner of Maine. IT: WELCOME TO DERRY premiered to 5.7 million U.S. viewers across HBO and HBO Max within its first three days, making it the third biggest series premiere in HBO Max history behind HOUSE OF THE DRAGON and THE LAST OF US. The audience kept growing throughout the season, with the finale reaching 6.5 million U.S. viewers in its first three days. By the end of its run, HBO reported that the series was averaging more than 27 million viewers globally per episode. That’s a lot of butts in seats.

The first season was also an expensive piece of television, with production estimates putting the total investment somewhere around $100 million or more. HBO has not publicly confirmed an official Season 1 budget, so we are not going to pretend that number is carved into one of Pennywise’s teeth, but the scale of the production was obvious. The elaborate period sets, visual effects, and creature work gave WELCOME TO DERRY a cinematic look that was considerably larger than your average horror series, and let us not forget that banger of a theme song and opening credits scenes throughout the series. Talk about an “earworm”; we had the theme in our heads for weeks!

WHAT WILL SEASON 2 BE?

Season 2 will jump to 1935, during the Great Depression, and will center on the infamous Bradley Gang massacre from Stephen King’s novel. The Bradley Gang were a group of bank robbers who arrive in Derry looking to purchase ammunition and find themselves caught in something far more horrific than anything they expected. The new season will continue expanding the history of Derry and the mythology surrounding the entity that has been feeding on the town’s fear for generations.

Brad Caleb Kane will serve as showrunner for Season 2, while Andy and Barbara Muschietti remain executive producers. HBO says the new season will continue expanding the world created through King’s novel and the Muschiettis’ IT films, giving the creative team another opportunity to dig into some of the darker corners of Derry’s history.

That is where this series has a serious advantage. Pennywise is terrifying, but IT has never really been about a clown living in a sewer. Derry itself is the problem. The town has a history of violence, disappearances and inexplicable tragedies that stretch back generations, and the creature simply knows how to take advantage of what is already festering underneath the surface. Season 2 gives the series another opportunity to show us just how deep that history goes. And hopefully, we get plenty more of Bill Skarsgård as Pennywise while we’re at it.

The first season understood that Pennywise doesn’t need to be on screen every five minutes to make his presence felt. When he does appear, the series can turn the entire atmosphere inside out, and Skarsgård has clearly settled into the character. Season 2 now has an even larger stretch of Derry’s history to explore, which means there are plenty of opportunities for Pennywise to find new ways to torment anyone unlucky enough to cross his path.

As for the kids? We love them, but let’s be honest, they can get a little annoying with all the whining. We’re kidding.

Mostly.

The important thing is that IT: WELCOME TO DERRY worked. Audiences showed up, kept watching, and gave HBO enough confidence to bring everyone back for another trip into the sewer. As the story moves into 1935, we are getting another piece of the history Stephen King planted in his novel. If the first season taught us anything, Derry has plenty of ugly secrets left to uncover.