Series guide
- Horror
- Drama
- Period
Andy Muschietti's Stephen King prequel series set in 1962 Derry, Maine — the decades before Pennywise terrorized the Losers' Club, told through a military family that moves to town just as a boy vanishes and the fear starts again.
- Creators
- Andy Muschietti · Barbara Muschietti · Jason Fuchs
- Stars
- Bill Skarsgård · Taylour Paige · Jovan Adepo
Images: HBO Max
Streaming It: Welcome to Derry: HBO Max
The It: Welcome to Derry episode schedule runs weekly on Sundays at 9 p.m. ET on HBO, with every episode streaming on HBO Max the same night. Season 1 started October 26, 2026, and its eight episodes run through a December 14, 2026 finale.
Streaming options in the United States, updated Nov 6, 2026. More from thewrap.com.
- Episodes aired
- 2 of 8
- Episodes
- 8
- Premiere
- Oct 26, 2026
- Finale
- Dec 14, 2026
- Based on
- Stephen King's It universe
It: Welcome to Derry episodes 8
It: Welcome to Derry Season 1 has 8 episodes, releasing weekly on HBO and HBO Max every Sunday from October 26 through the December 14, 2026 finale, “Winter Fire.”
Season 1 · 8 episodes · 2 aired · Oct 26, 2026 to Dec 14, 2026
S1.E1 ·
The Pilot
The Hanlon family arrives in Derry in 1962 as a local boy vanishes, and the military base's strange new project starts pulling the town's kids into something much older than it looks.
S1.E2 ·
The Thing in the Dark
A theater attack puts Hank Grogan under suspicion while Lilly's account of what she saw is dismissed by the police — and Leroy starts uncovering just how far the base's cover story goes.
S1.E3 · · Up next
Now You See It
S1.E4 ·
The Great Swirling Apparatus of Our Planet's Function
S1.E5 ·
29 Neibolt Street
S1.E6 ·
In the Name of the Father
S1.E7 ·
The Black Spot
S1.E8 ·
Winter Fire
All 8 dates are HBO’s own published weekly slots, cross-checked against Wikipedia’s episode table. HBO has not announced a Season 2 release window beyond a 1935-set premise with the Bradley Gang.
Videos 1
IT: Welcome to Derry | Official Trailer | HBO Max (season 1)HBO Max · YouTube
Our Take: A Schedule Worth Actually Following
Welcome to Derry has leaned into its weekly format better than most prequels — the Halloween special between episodes 1 and 2 wasn’t filler, it was HBO using the gap week to widen the world instead of padding it. That’s a good sign for the back half: a show willing to slow down for a self-contained detour is usually one that trusts its own mythology enough to not rush the scary stuff.
The real reason to bookmark this schedule rather than just binge it later: Welcome to Derry is airing on the old-fashioned weekly model, and HBO has not hinted at a bundled drop. Miss a Sunday and the subreddit spoils episode 3 by Tuesday — this is a show that rewards watching on the night it airs, not catching up in December. The premiere already proved there’s an audience for that patience: episode 1 drew 0.334 million same-night viewers on its October 26, 2026 debut, per Wikipedia’s Nielsen-sourced ratings table, before HBO Max streaming numbers are even counted.
The already-confirmed Season 2 jump to 1935 is a smart long game, too: it means Season 1 doesn’t have to cram all of Derry’s history into eight episodes, and every loose thread HBO leaves hanging this December has somewhere to land.
It: Welcome to Derry cast 6
- Bill SkarsgårdPennywise / Bob GrayMain
- Taylour PaigeCharlotte HanlonMain
- Jovan AdepoLeroy HanlonMain
- Chris ChalkDick HallorannMain
- Madeleine StoweIngrid Kersh / PeriwinkleMain
- James RemarGeneral Francis ShawMain
- Creators
- Andy Muschietti, Barbara Muschietti, Jason Fuchs
- Based on
- Stephen King's It universe
- Director (multiple episodes)
- Andy Muschietti
- Network
- HBO
It: Welcome to Derry trivia 2
- Trivia
The season is set in 1962, two cycles before the 1989 Losers' Club story in King's novel and the 2017/2019 films — Pennywise returns to Derry roughly every 27 years. Source
- Trivia
HBO renewed the series for a Season 2 in August 2026, moving the story back to 1935 and centering on Derry's real Bradley Gang shootout, with a new showrunner attached. Source
More It: Welcome to Derry coverage
Comic Book CoIT: Welcome to Derry Drops Surprise HBO Max Halloween Special, A Story of Derry
Comic Book CoIT: Welcome to Derry Season 2 Confirmed at HBO: 1935, the Bradley Gang and a New Showrunner
TVIT: Welcome to Derry’s Premiere Ratings Are a Monster Hit for HBO Max
TVIT: Welcome to Derry: Everything We Know About the Pennywise Prequel Series
TVIT: Welcome to Derry: How the HBO Prequel Is Building a Stephen King Universe
Rate It: Welcome to Derry
Sign in to rate it and earn Hero Pass progress.
Frequently Asked Questions
When does It: Welcome to Derry release new episodes?
New episodes air Sundays at 9 p.m. ET on HBO, streaming on HBO Max the same night.
How many episodes does It: Welcome to Derry Season 1 have?
8 episodes, running from the October 26, 2026 premiere through the December 14, 2026 finale, “Winter Fire.”
Where can I watch It: Welcome to Derry?
HBO and HBO Max exclusively. It is not available on any other streaming service.
Is It: Welcome to Derry getting a Season 2?
Yes — HBO renewed it in August 2026. Season 2 moves the story to 1935 and centers on Derry’s Bradley Gang, with a new showrunner.
Does It: Welcome to Derry connect to the It movies?
Yes. It’s a prequel to Andy Muschietti’s It and It Chapter Two, set decades before the Losers’ Club, following the same 27-year cycle of Pennywise’s return to Derry.
