Stephen King’s New Series Is “Insanely Good” and Going to Make You Float According to Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score

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New movies and TV shows are coming out rapidly, and the latest is based on one of Stephen King’s scariest novels. This new project is a prequel to King’s classic 1986 story about children facing evil, which was famously adapted into a TV miniseries in 1990 and later a two-part movie in 2017 and 2019. Now, the team behind those adaptations – Andy and Barbara Muschietti – are returning to explore the origins of the terrifying Pennywise, and early reactions from fans have been very positive.

It’s difficult to get a true sense of how well a show will be received until the whole season airs, but critics gave the premiere of Welcome to Derry a 78% rating. Viewers who’ve already watched the first episode have quickly shared their opinions, and generally seem to enjoy this new take on Stephen King’s story, giving it an 82% audience score. One early review was particularly enthusiastic, stating:

As a huge movie fan, I have to say, “IT: WELCOME TO DERRY” is absolutely phenomenal! It’s genuinely terrifying and so brilliantly made – easily one of the best shows I’ve seen all year. Seriously, just the first episode left me completely stunned when it finished. Andy Muschietti really proves he’s a director to watch, and it’s clear why Warner Bros. keeps working with him.

Reactions to the series are mixed. One person declared it the best of 2025, but others aren’t convinced. One critic compared it to Supernatural and felt the production value could have been higher, suggesting a larger budget would have prevented it from looking low-budget. Despite the impressive visuals in the trailer, this reviewer still feels something is missing. Others have simply called it “boring” or “disappointing,” particularly because it doesn’t immediately jump into the intense horror associated with the character Pennywise – a deliberate choice by the director, Muschietti.

‘It: Welcome to Derry’ Could Run For Several Seasons


HBO

The story of It still has many unanswered questions, and the new series, Welcome to Derry, aims to explore them. The show will delve into the origins of Pennywise, detailing his past crimes and how everything began. The creators, the Muschiettis, hope the series will be renewed for multiple seasons, allowing them to go further back in time with each one. In a recent interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Andy Muschietti discussed Stephen King’s role in the project.

Stephen didn’t direct the adaptation with strict rules. He wanted us to have creative freedom with his work. We made it clear from the start that his book was intentionally ambiguous, a mystery with unanswered questions. Our goal was to explore those mysteries and fill in the missing pieces, ultimately crafting a new story that existed alongside the book, a story hidden within it.

Each new installment in the series will act as a backstory to the previous one, revealing more of Pennywise’s history by going further back in time. This approach is similar to the successful Fear Street trilogy on Netflix. The series has the potential to be another major hit for Stephen King, finally explaining the origins of his most frightening creation.

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2025-10-27 14:48