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IT: Welcome to Derry First Reviews: A Total Monster Mash with Plenty of Easter Eggs

The prequel series It: Welcome to Derry premieres on HBO this Sunday (October 26), and the first reviews should pique the interest of fans of the It novel and movies. This latest show, inspired by the writings of Stephen King, offers an expansion on the lore of the fictional Maine town and its cosmic villain, best known for its incarnation as Pennywise the Clown. The initial reviews claim the horror series is worth watching, but its scares and structure are mixed in their quality.

Here’s what critics are saying about It: Welcome to Derry:

Is this a must-see TV show for It fans?

It: Welcome to Derry is a total monster mash that should satisfy hungry horror fans.
— Chris Evangelista, Slashfilm

Ramping up the intensity, It: Welcome To Derry can best be described as precision-tooled prestige horror.
— James Mottram, NME (New Musical Express)

The tangential nature of It proves to be a great match for television.
— Tyler Taing, Discussing Film

The series is entertaining enough to be worth watching, even if many of our main characters can’t quite sell themselves as belonging in 1960s America.
— Chris E Karen M. Peterson, AwardsWatch

You don’t have to watch Muschietti’s movies or read any of King’s books to grasp what’s unfolding on Welcome to Derry…none of that’s required to enjoy what’s in front of you.
— Chris Hayner, Polygon

Based on the first five episodes, it is really challenging to recommend checking out It: Welcome to Derry…if you are a fan of this franchise and will watch no matter what, I urge you to be patient.
— Ricky Valero, Geek Vibes Nation

Fans of the It franchise should know whether Welcome to Derry is right for them within the first hour, perhaps sooner.
— Ben Travers, IndieWire

It: Welcome to Derry is what happens when a popular property is rehashed and remixed until every ounce of what made it special in the first place is gone.
— Nick Schager, The Daily Beast

How does it compare to the It movies?

It is a story about the everyday violence we ignore…It: Welcome to Derry confronts this truth with far more courage and way more creativity than the franchise’s past two film adaptations do.
— Meghan O’Keefe, Decider

In the five episodes of Welcome to Derry that were provided for review, I already feel more invested in this cursed Maine community and the role it plays in It’s lore than I was at any point during the movies.
— Chris Hayner, Polygon

The serialized and sanitized prequel doesn’t have the charismatic kid characters, the dread-drenched tension, or tangible atmosphere the director was able to wield on the big screen.
— Emma Kiely, Collider

Like Muscietti’s It: Chapter Twothe series can’t decide what kind of hellride it wants to take us on, vacillating between imaginative, Nightmare on Elm Street-style terror and the juvenile thrills of Goosebumps.
— Justin Clark, Slant Magazine

Does it honor the novel?

It helps that the series has King’s book as a guidepost: a lot of the storylines that unfold here are taken directly from that massive tome of terror.
— Chris Evangelista, Slashfilm

This eight-episode series deepens the mythology of King’s novel with a note-perfect depiction of 1960s Americana.
— James Mottram, NME (New Musical Express)

A bonus for King fans is that, in the tradition of many of his books — and subsequent adaptations — Welcome to Derry is set in King’s “universe,” and there are plenty of Easter eggs, with settings and characters from several different stories.
— Kylie Northover, The Age

It: Welcome to Derry should satisfy die-hard King fans who have been yearning for an extended universe, with references to the Bower Gang and a focus on the Indigenous origins of the titular entity.
— Emma Kiely, Collider

It is an admirable effort to update the shortcomings of the source material.
— Tyler Taing, Discussing Film

It’s the worst King adaptation in many moons.
— Nick Schager, The Daily Beast

Is it one of the better prequel shows?

It: Welcome to Derry now joins a long list of excellent prequels.
— Chris Hayner, Polygon

It: Welcome to Derry is a worthy prequel series that not only details the emergence of Pennywise, but also turns a lens on society to showcase how truly horrifying we can be as human beings.
— Aramide Tinubu, Variety

Welcome to Derry also seems a little too hellbent on explaining every single mystery. This is a problem inherent to prequels in general: spelling things out and answering questions that no one was asking to begin with.
— Chris Evangelista, Slashfilm

It: Welcome to Derry rests in the category of unnecessary prequels that are engaging enough for fans but fall short of expanding the universe in any meaningful way.
— Karen M. Peterson, AwardsWatch

All the newly created rules and details about his ancestry and nature — which are, to a tee, eye-rollingly lame…it’s a prequel that belongs, aptly, in the sewers.
— Nick Schager, The Daily Beast

Does it also feel relevant to right now?

The show may be set in the past, but its themes have never echoed louder today.
— Aramide Tinubu, Variety

Having an antagonist who feeds on fear, then drastically expanding those fears on a macro level of a still-segregated society, is smart, timely.
— Justin Clark, Slant Magazine

How is the structure of the series?

Masterfully woven.
— Aramide Tinubu, Variety

Welcome to Derry excels in juggling its numerous storylines (so far).
— Meghan O’Keefe, Decider

Welcome to Derry is at its best when it’s at its darkest, which is especially pronounced when the series focuses on its adult cast…the kids’ side of the narrative is where the horror gets more obvious and less effective.
— Justin Clark, Slant Magazine

It is in the parallel storytelling that this iteration of the Pennywise story sometimes struggles to find a good balance…if the story kept the original structure and stayed mostly with the kids, the juxtaposition of real and imagined horrors would fare better.
— Karen M. Peterson, AwardsWatch

Although I don’t mind series bouncing back and forth timeline-wise, the Muschiettis don’t establish these well enough for you to follow along.
— Ricky Valero, Geek Vibes Nation

With the narrative jumping between so many different perspectives, the show doesn’t successfully bring all its disparate narratives together to form one cohesive, terrifying path.
— Emma Kiely, Collider

Are the stakes high enough?

It: Welcome to Derry also impresses in raising the stakes from Andy Muschietti’s duology…there’s a certain thrill and sense of dread in not knowing exactly who will survive and how.
— Tyler Taing, Discussing Film

A few plot-armored characters aside, no kid or adult is safe.
— Tom Jorgensen, IGN Movies

The challenge with any prequel series is in finding ways to touch on the important points of the source material while also trying to create stakes and tension in a story with a known conclusion… and though we don’t know the eventual outcome for all of our major players, we know that this is not the group that will stop Pennywise.
— Karen M. Peterson, AwardsWatch

Is it scary?

Knuckle-gnawing, hair-raisingly scary — a terrifying tour de force.
— Pat Stacey, Irish Independent

It: Welcome to Derry isn’t pulling any punches…the show is signaling from the jump that it really wants to scare us, and I have to admit I was kind of impressed.
— Chris Evangelista, Slashfilm

Welcome to Derry cranks up the violence. Even the first episode features moments far more disturbing than anything in either It films.
— Chris Hayner, Polygon

There’s an insane body-horror sequence the likes of which I (a seasoned horror buff) have never seen before.
— Kylie Northover, The Age

Welcome to Derry’s most frightening aspects might be its moments of real-world anxiety.
— Cheryl Eddy, io9.com

Unfortunately, some of the most unsettling moments of terror and gore to grace the small screen are contrasted here by some of the cheapest and corniest.
— Justin Clark, Slant Magazine

[The first episode] culminates with movie theater mayhem that’s less scary than chaotic.
— Nick Schager, The Daily Beast

Does Bill Skarsgård deliver another great Pennywise performance?

Barely; while the specific timing of his maiden appearance is under strict network embargo, it’s fair to say that audiences shouldn’t hold their breath waiting for his arrival.
— Nick Schager, The Daily Beast

There is nowhere near enough Pennywise, but rest assured, Skarsgård makes the most of the few minutes he’s on-screen.
— Emma Kiely, Collider

It is too soon to tell whether he brings anything new to the role or continues delivering more of the same thrillingly silly scares.
— Karen M. Peterson, AwardsWatch

Bill Skarsgård continues to demonstrate why his Pennywise is a modern horror icon.
— Tyler Taing, Discussing Film

How is the rest of the cast?

The adult performers are across-the-board excellent.
— Cheryl Eddy, io9.com

There’s not a weak link in the cast.
— Chris Hayner, Polygon

It cannot be overstated how outstanding the younger cast is…the cast’s emotional depth and depictions of fright and panic really elevate It: Welcome to Derry.
— Aramide Tinubu, Variety

Welcome to Derry’s younger cast is nowhere near as charming as the movies’ ensemble.
— Emma Kiely, Collider

Nothing will ever replace the legacy of The Loser’s Club, but It: Welcome to Derry has such a strong ensemble cast that they are not sorely missed.
— Tyler Taing, Discussing Film

Does anyone stand out?

Clara Stack’s Lilly particularly stands out.
— Aramide Tinubu, Variety

Blake James, as confirmed science geek Will Hanlon, is a standout among the kid cast.
— Cheryl Eddy, io9.com

Adepo, who was brilliant in Damien Chazelle’s Babylon, showcases his acting chops as the lead in the series. His storyline (and performances) is one of the biggest reasons why I was invested.
— Ricky Valero, Geek Vibes Nation

[The show has] two brilliant lead performances from Jovan Adepo and Taylour Paige.
— Emma Kiely, Collider

Chris Chalke’s role as Dick Hallorann — notably played by Scatman Crothers in Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining — is an early highlight.
— Chris Hayner, Polygon

Kimberly Norris Guerrero is a particular standout as Rose, an indigenous woman with a special connection to Pennywise’s mythology.
— Tyler Taing, Discussing Film

How does the series look?

Cinematographer Rasmus Heise shot this with pure magic. Like any horror project, the balancing of the color palette is all over the place, and Heise captures it beautifully.
— Ricky Valero, Geek Vibes Nation

The big-budget series looks incredible.
— Kylie Northover, The Age

More often than not, the different shapes that It takes often look like they’ve come right out of a Goosebumps episode.
— Emma Kiely, Collider

Cheesy frights rely on cartoonish CGI and spewing blood to provoke imagery that’s memorable for the wrong reasons.
— Ben Travers, IndieWire

Are there any other major problems with the show?

One of It: Welcome to Derry‘s largest issues is that it’s trying and failing to be Stranger Things.
— Emma Kiely, Collider

Nothing is as disastrous as the basic notion that the Air Force imagines Pennywise as an attack dog it can keep on a leash—which, to put it lightly, is beyond goofy.
— Nick Schager, The Daily Beast