Horror Welcome to Derry - HBO Max Developing IT Prequel Series

[squeekness]

The girl who farted in the bathroom is actually credited as "Fart Girl." That's actually incredible, I must admit. Childish, sure, but incredible, and she can't deny it now, it's right there in print!

That will look good on her resume, lol.

 

[Still Wynning]

I have two things to say…

One, great first episode.

Two…

Spoiler

Concerning the opening and ending…

 

[AVEITWITHJAMON]

That first episode was messed in so many ways. Really enjoyed it though and ready for more.

 

[Sawyer]

Oh ****, I didn’t even realize the main girl’s friend (who looks to lose an eye at some point, based on the trailers) was young Mackenzie Davis on Station Eleven.

 

[Link]

Episode 1 is promising. The cold open is CRAZY, it certainly set the tone. Leroy's patriotic speech struck me as bizarre, but maybe that'll be contextualized in a more interesting way in the coming weeks.

 

[DarthSkywalker]

The girl who farted in the bathroom is actually credited as "Fart Girl." That's actually incredible, I must admit. Childish, sure, but incredible, and she can't deny it now, it's right there in print!

Ladies, gents, and enby friends, the director of Brave and the Bold!

 

[Pennywise]

It: Welcome to Derry showrunners say adding The Shining's Dick Hallorann to the new Stephen King spin-off was "all about staying authentic to the book": "We became amateur Derry historians"

Jason Fuchs and Brad Caleb Kane talk writing Dick Hallorann into the Pennywise prequel

www.gamesradar.com

"He's very different than the Dick Hallorann we know from The Shining, or certainly from Doctor Sleep," Fuchs explains. "So it was all about finding those little nuggets buried in the text and letting story and character dictate it. So, for instance, if a character's going to get carted off to prison – I guess you'd see that in the trailer. It was suddenly a question, well, 'What's the nearest prison? Shawshank.' It made sense."

"So we were never shoehorning things in. It was all from a place of what is the most effective, dramatic choice. "And then often the answers to those questions suggested other elements of Stephen King lore and canon. But there are a lot of Easter eggs in this show. There are definitely, for Stephen King mega fan like myself, like Brad, this thing is chock full of Easter eggs, of references to a broader Stephen King universe. So I'm excited for fans to try to discover those."

"In our show, Dick Hallorann is in service of nothing but himself. He's a much more selfish guy," Kane explains. "I guess he's in service to General Shaw and the overarching plan of the show, but he's looking to just do that: get out from under people's thumbs and live his life. He is a good time guy. He doesn't love kids like he does in The Shining. He's not interested. But we were able to take him from that character that we don't know, this younger character who is nothing like [his character in] The Shining, to a character that you recognize much more by the end. We gave him a full arc.

"I feel like we made him an even more three-dimensional, rounded character under the watchful eye of Uncle Stevie himself. He had to approve every outline, every script, make sure we're not telling tales out of school here. All with Stephen King's approval. But we were able to really build out his character in a way that I don't think we've seen before. And that was exciting to hear."

 

[Pennywise]

TV Ratings: ‘IT: Welcome to Derry’ Scares Up Big Premiere Audience

HBO says 5.7 million cross-platform viewers watched the show over three days.

www.hollywoodreporter.com

The premiere of IT: Welcome to Derry enticed a lot of viewers back into Pennywise’s clutches.

The HBO series debuted to 5.7 million cross-platform viewers (measured over three days), making Welcome to Derry the third biggest series debut in HBO’s history. It trails only the premieres of House of the Dragon — which had nearly 10 million day-one viewers in 2022 — and The Last of Us, which opened with 4.7 million on its first night in 2023 and moved well past 5.7 million in following the three days.

 

[OrbOfConfusion]

Well-deserved ratings win, to be sure.

 

[Sawyer]

If this manages to keep it up, obviously more Derry seasons would be in order, but I wonder if HBO/HBO Max might reconsider that Overlook project.

 

[Pennywise]

Saw the opening title sequence leaked, looked pretty great!

 

[KaijuDude1992]

Just got done watching the second episode and I enjoyed it way more than the premiere which was pretty solid but not great IMO.

The actress playing Ronnie is killing it so far and I'm loving the worldbuilding.

I also like the fact that we've seen very little of

Spoiler

Pennywise

so far but that hasn't affected the level of tension or dread in the show.

That bedroom scene was effing nuts lol.

 

[Drizzle]

Oh ****, I totally forgot the second episode was streaming early! Gonna try to squeeze it in with the last of my spooky season marathon.

 

[The Lazarus Pit]

I love the book and the 1990 movie, but honestly kinda hated both IT movies and the first episode was not that good or scary. Hate the CGI.

It’s still a fun watch because I love this world so much.

And for the record? Tim Curry is still the better Pennywise!!

 

[Sawyer]

Hallorann aside I’m not sure how I’m feeling about the military subplot so far, but this was a solid second episode. Both of those scare scenes were killer. Andy and Barbara are putting these kids through it.

That being said… of all the music they could’ve gone with— era-appropriate and otherwise— that’s the song they went with for the opening credits…?

 

[Drizzle]

I liked episode 2. It was enough to make me look at pickles differently now.

I love the book and the 1990 movie, but honestly kinda hated both IT movies and the first episode was not that good or scary. Hate the CGI.

It’s still a fun watch because I love this world so much.

And for the record? Tim Curry is still the better Pennywise!!

The original 1990 movie is faithful enough to the book and a fun watch but obviously held back by the restraints of being made for broadcast TV. I love the first IT movie but Chapter Two is pretty lacking in a lot of areas, mostly because the adult section of the book is weaker than the 1958 parts but it's got a few things going for it, like Skarsgard and Bill Hader carrying the movie.

But as to who's a better Pennywise, that might as well be a "Who's the best Batman on film" type of question. Both Curry and Skarsgard are incredible as Pennywise and neither of those projects would have worked nearly as well without them. Curry is fantastically creepy being under the restraints of broadcast TV and Skarsgard is terrifying being fully unleashed without those boundaries.

Hallorann aside I’m not sure how I’m feeling about the military subplot so far, but this was a solid second episode. Both of those scare scenes were killer. Andy and Barbara are putting these kids through it.

That being said… of all the music they could’ve gone with— era-appropriate and otherwise— that’s the song they went with for the opening credits…?

Hot take because I know it's HBO and this is very much a thing for their shows but I would have preferred if this show didn't have opening credits at all and instead just took the same approach as episode 1 with the title rising out of the water similar to the first movie.

 

[Sawyer]

Hot take because I know it's HBO and this is very much a thing for their shows but I would have preferred if this show didn't have opening credits at all and instead just took the same approach as episode 1 with the title rising out of the water similar to the first movie.

Yeah, it wouldn’t be disappointed if they end up dropping it for the (presumably pretty likely) second season.

 

[Pennywise]

That was another pretty good episode for the most part. As previously stated, the military storyline isn’t very exciting, even though Leroy Hanlon and Hallorann are great. Also really like Taylor Paige’s Charlotte, and that scene with the bullies was tense.

I thought seeing the last episode from Lily’s POV in the opening was nice.

Of the kids, Ronnie and Lily are the standouts so far.

Seeing the forms it took in this episode were pretty gnarly. Eager to see Skarsgård, but I appreciate the build up and it’ll be worth it.

 

[Spider-Fan]

Really enjoyed the first 2 episodes. Not sure if I love the military plot at this point, but the rest of it I am digging. Maybe Muschietti should stick to horror, lol!

 

[Primal Slayer]

I enjoyed the first two episodes. My only thing is.....IT is going 10x harder here then it did in the movies!

 

[Spider-Fan]

I enjoyed the first two episodes. My only thing is.....IT is going 10x harder here then it did in the movies!

Spoiler

On the surface, sure. But we also have to remember that the Losers Club were close friends, and It being a fear entity feeds on fear. Their bond gave them a belief in themselves that they could beat Pennywise, hence why they could resist him. He killed Georgie on first meeting, so it isn't like he didn't just...kill some people first try in Chapter 1 or 2. Thus far, we are only 2 episodes in, and we don't have a friend group like that so far