Introduction to Horror: It: Welcome to Derry
The pilot episode of HBO Max's new show "It: Welcome to Derry" (2025) unfolds with unrelenting horror and violence.
The series premiered on January 26, with its pilot episode airing to critical acclaim for its storytelling approach, serving as a prequel to Andy Muschietti's "It" (2017) and "It: Chapter Two" (2019).
Setting and Plot
"It: Welcome to Derry" is set in 1962, 27 years before the events of the original 2017 film, in Derry, Maine, a town that appears innocent on the surface.
The episode begins with a young boy named Matty Clements (Miles Ekhardt) being chased out of a movie theater by an usher, later picked up by a family who seem to have ulterior motives for him.
Matty asks to be taken anywhere but Derry, foreshadowing the terror that lies within the town.
Author's summary: Horror unfolds in Derry.