After months of waiting on tenterhooks, Stephen King fans received some good news Aug. 17 when HBO officially renewed IT: Welcome to Derry for a second season.
The sophomore installment of the hit horror series developed by Andy Muschietti, Barbara Muschietti and Jason Fuchs will turn the clock back to Depression-era Maine, circa 1935.
“Continuing to explore and expand on the amazing world Stephen King created is an absolute privilege,” the Muschiettis said in a joint statement. “The support of our partners at HBO and Warner Bros. Television is priceless. Boy do we love our jobs!”
As expected, the rampant poverty, homelessness and general desperation caused by the economic downturn create the perfect hunting environment for the sewer-dwelling eldritch entity known as Pennywise (Bill Skarsgård), who preys on weak and lost souls by exploiting their deepest hopes and fears.
“In this case, on the surface, Derry is a graveyard almost,” Andy recently teased to Variety. “It’s a carcass of something because people are depleted, poor, tired, jobless, homeless. The kids don’t have a suburban, comforting life. They’re in a very different situation. Some of them are orphans or runaways, and so the environment is pretty bleak. But there’s always the aspect of hope that is always there, burning, and it’s what keeps our new group going.”
Brad Caleb Kane, who showran the first season with Fuchs, is going solo for season two.
“We are excited to return to the chilling world of Derry and to further expand on Andy and Barbara Muschietti’s horrifically iconic adaptation,” Head of HBO Max Original Programming Sarah Aubrey said in a statement. “Together with Brad Caleb Kane, they will break new ground in season two, deepening the terror, the mystery, and the unforgettable Pennywise lore that fans love to devour.”
Added President, Creative Affairs, Warner Bros. Television Clancy Collins White: “We know IT: Welcome to Derry will continue to captivate viewers with its spine-tingling new journey into the 1930s for season two. We look forward to bringing fans back to the town of Derry to experience the next chapter and uncover even more of what lies beneath the surface.”
What Will IT: Welcome to Derry Season 2 Be About?
Drawing from the IT novel’s collection of interludes regarding Derry’s sordid history under the influence of Pennywise, season two of IT: Welcome to Derry will explore the bloody massacre of the bank-robbing Bradley Gang, whose members stopped in Derry to restock on ammunition and met a grisly fate.
The event is depicted in season one’s opening titles, which show Pennywise firing a Tommy gun from the perch of a nearby window.
“There’s gonna be a lot of that Depression-era hustling in the air in our characters,” Andy told Variety. “Everybody’s trying to get by and survive the circumstances. They are gonna do crazy things. And of course, the social, cultural, horrible things that were happening in the era, too. We’re not going to skip those. [They are the] very center and the heart of our story.”
The pair serve as executive producers alongside Kane, Roy Lee, Dan Lin, Jamie Travis and Dhana Gilbert.
Who Stars in Season 2 of IT: Welcome to Derry?
No actors have been cast for the second season at publish time, though odds are good Skarsgård will returns as Pennywise.
When Will IT: Welcome to Derry Season 2 Come Out?
HBO has yet to announced a specific premiere date for season two of IT: Welcome to Derry. Considering production hasn’t even begun, it’s probably safe to assume we won’t see new episodes drop until late 2027 or early 2028.
The plan is to make a third and final season exploring the Pennywise cycle of 1910 that culminated in the Kitchener Ironworks explosion.
“It’s thinking about the longer arc,” Andy said during an interview with SYFY Wire last fall. “1962 is only one catastrophic event, which is the burning of The Black Spot. And we always knew that season two and season three would contain the Bradley Gang massacre and the explosion of the Easter egg hunt.”
How To Watch IT: Welcome to Derry
The complete first season of IT: Welcome to Derry is now streaming exclusively on HBO Max.
