It: Welcome to Derry will answer two key Pennywise questions from the novel

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As a huge Stephen King fan, I’m really excited about “Welcome to Derry!” From what the people making the show have said, it’s going to explore some big mysteries about Pennywise that the book only hinted at – they’re actually planning to give us answers to two of the biggest questions we’ve all had about him!

Welcome to Derry is already being hailed as one of the top TV shows of 2025. It’s a prequel to Andy Muschietti’s ‘It’ films and delves deeper into the history of Pennywise the clown.

The show has sparked lots of online discussion and fan theories. People have been pointing out hidden details, like a reference to the movie It: Chapter Two, and finding links to many of Stephen King’s most popular stories.

The fourth episode of “It: Welcome to Derry” will be available on HBO Max this Sunday, November 16th. The writers say this new episode will start to provide answers to questions fans have had about the story for many years.

It: Welcome to Derry will solve these major Pennywise mysteries

It’s established that the creature at the center of the story It – in the book, films, and TV series – is actually an alien being. But why does it most often appear as the terrifying clown Pennywise, and what makes the town of Derry such a significant place that keeps it returning?

Co-showrunner and executive producer Jason Fuchs says answers are coming on both fronts.

He wonders to Deadline, mostly to himself, why It, a being capable of transforming into anything, consistently returns to the form of Pennywise the Dancing Clown.

The book offers clues, but it’s hard to understand the bigger picture. We wanted to figure out why ‘It’ – a powerful being of light – chooses to stay in Derry. There are other places that seem like better hunting grounds, so why does it remain there?

Pennywise hasn’t been featured heavily at the start of the season, but that will be changing as the episodes continue. According to co-showrunner Brad Caleb Kane, things are about to get much scarier.

Horror series often become less frightening as they continue, with creators relying more on humor, explains Kane in an interview with Deadline. He questions whether characters like Pennywise, who have become popular and ingrained in pop culture, still genuinely scare audiences, or if they’ve become more amusing than terrifying.

So, yeah, we really wanted to bring back that original fear factor with this character. He’s always been scary, but we aimed to make him truly terrifying again – crank up the tension, make the scares bigger, and design environments that are genuinely frightening. Basically, we wanted to maximize the fear and make everything way more intense.

Want to learn more about Derry and why the show’s ending was altered? You can find details here. Or, check out our picks for the best horror TV shows and movies of all time here and here.

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2025-11-12 15:19