IT: Welcome To Derry: The Complete First Season 4K Review (Warner Bros.)

IT: Welcome to Derry is a 2025 horror television series executive produced/created by Jason Fuchs (It: Chapter Two, Argylle, Big Thunder, and I Still See You), Andy Muschietti (Locke and Key, They Will Kill You, The Electric State, and Norita), and Barbara Muschietti (IT franchise, The Flash, Mama, They Will Kill You, and Ride or Die). It was directed by Andy Muschietti (It, It: Chapter Two, The Flash, and Mama), Andrew Bernstein (The Outsider, Ozark, Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan: Ghost War, The West Wing, House, Castle Rock, Fear the Walking Dead, and Jack Ryan), Emmanuel Osei-Kuffour (Black Box, The Terror, and Star Trek: Discovery), and Jamie Travis (Yellowjackets, Scream: The TV Series, and Faking It). It’s biased on the novel from the master of horror Stephen King (The Stand, Pet Sematary, Silver Bullet, The Dead Zone, The Shining, The Monkey, Carrie, The Outsider, Castle Rock, Doctor Sleep, IT, Creepshow, and Maximum Overdrive). It was executive produced by Brad Kane (Crystal Lake, Tokyo Vice, Warrior, Fringe, Black Sails, and Crash). It’s an expansion to the IT franchise, it’s been renewed for another season. Major Leroy Hanlon (played by: Jovan Adepo from Overlord, Fences, Babylon, Watchmen, Jack Ryan, and The Stand) is new in this small town in Maine with with his wife Charlotte (played by: Taylour Paige from Zola, Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F, The Toxic Avenger, and Brothers) and son Will (played by: Blake Cameron James from The Sound of Christmas, Found, and We Grown Now) but something already doesn’t feel right here. Locals Teddy Uris (played by: Mikkal Karim Fidler from Boy in the Walls, Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, and Six), Phil Malkin (played by: Jack Molloy Legault from Three Pines, Interstellar Ella, and Home Sweet Home Alone), Lilly Bainbridge (played by: Clara Stack from Hawkeye, Bull, and The Naughty Nine), and Ronnie Grogan (played by: Amanda Christine from Black Box, The Wilding, and Ada Twist Scientist) start their own investigations into the missing children from their community. Welcome to Derry goes all the way back to 1962 to trace the origins of the murderous, shape-shifting entity known as Pennywise the dancing Clown (played by: Bill Skarsgård from the IT franchise, Nosferatu, Barbarian, The Crow, Boy Kills World, John Wick: Chapter 4, Castle Rock, Deadpool 2, Assassination Nation, and Eternals)!!!! I honestly didn’t know what to expect with IT: Welcome to Derry but it exceeded all of my expectations. Director Andy Muschietti continues his unique vision for the IT universe but this time it’s extended into a television format so this concept has more time to fully develop. It’s based on the legendary book from horror author Stephen King and it includes some of his other characters from his dark world into the mystery town of Derry. Lead actor Jovan Adepo is excellent as the new man in town Major Leroy Hanlon that gets himself into a difficult situation. He has his family to think about it but he can’t ignore what’s happening around him. This local government isn’t what it seems and this community isn’t safe. Bill Skarsgård reprises his creepy villain role of the iconic Pennywise. He’s not in every episode and he’s used in smaller doses at times to make his appearances even more special when it happens. He eases back into the mind of a killer clown. It focuses on some of the mysterious past from the monster which elevates this Horror Television production. He will forever be known for Pennywise and it’s well earned in this. He’s the reason to give this a shot if you haven’t already. Chris Chalk (Gotham, Perry Mason, Godzilla vs. Kong, and The Newsroom) shows up as the memorable Dick Hallorann. Everyone knows this classic known character from Doctor Sleep and The Shining. It’s a younger version of the gifted man. The military uses his special abilities to track down some of the worst possible people around. This leads him to the brutal Pennywise and his countless murders. He works with Major Leroy Hanlon and they try to stop this living nightmare before it’s too late. Taylour Paige, Amanda Christine, Clara Stack, James Remar (Dexter franchise), Madeleine Stowe (Revenge), Peter Outerbridge (Land of the Dead), Matilda Lawler (Station Eleven), and Arian S. Cartaya (Bad Monkey) were the other main stand outs when it comes to Welcome to Derry. These additional roles were very important and crucial to this IT TV universe for this first season. The rest of the supporting cast includes Sophia Lillis (IT franchise), Lynne Griffin (Black Christmas), Stephen Rider (Daredevil), Thomas Mitchell (Spiral), Kimberly Guerrero (Reservation Dogs), Joshua Odjick (The Long Walk), Maya McNair (Clarice), Hannah Storey (Thanksgiving), Maya Misaljevic (The Boys), Alixandra Fuchs (Scream Queens), Shane Marriott (Firestarter), Rudy Mancuso (The Flash), Richard Walters (Degrassi series), Andrew Morgado (Marvel Zombies), and Larry Day (X-Men: Days of Future Past). IT: Welcome to Derry is ruthless, it kills off several major characters without any hesitation. I didn’t hate the visual fx like most people but they go very heavy on the CGI here. It has some fantastic special fx from artists Sophie J. Cameron (The Boys, Chucky, IT: Chapter Two, and Clarice), Sean Sansom (Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark, IT franchise, The Shape of Water, Carrie, and In the Mouth of Madness), Conor Craig (Frankenstein, Thanksgiving, and Ready or Not 2: Here I Come), and Gregory Zoltan Stevens (Nightmare Alley, Star Trek franchise, The Strain, and 11.22.63). It doesn’t shy from it’s graphic moments of violence and death. The fact that it’s on HBO rather than normal TV gives it more creative freedom. I’m not surprised since it’s been so popular over the last few years but it goes for the Stranger Things approach with this Stephen King adaptation. It’s a quality mix of horror and science fiction. It still has that social misfit atmosphere with the kids but it’s different than the losers club from the movies. IT: Welcome to Derry takes advantage of it’s extended time in the world of television to really explore the origins of it’s respected individuals from the previous feature efforts and novelizations. It’s one of the better Horror Television extensions of a loved series. It has so much potential for more chaos and reveals for the future in Derry. It’s cool to see Pennywise given more notice to reach more on the small screen every week to terrorize it’s viewers, RECOMMENDED!!!! Let’s discuss this high definition presentation and special features from Warner Bros Pictures! These 2160p (1.78:1) transfers with Dolby Vision and HDR10 on all 8 episodes look amazing on home video. I’m so glad that IT: Welcome to Derry got it’s own 4K set because a good amount of TV doesn’t get the physical media treatment these days for some odd reason. The slick cinematography, excellent production design, brutal special fx, and small town locations really stand out here when it comes to the visuals. It has a huge amount of audio options which includes English: Dolby Atmos, English: Dolby TrueHD 7.1, French: Dolby Digital 5.1, German: Dolby Digital 5.1, Italian: Dolby Digital 5.1, and Spanish: Dolby Digital 5.1 tracks on all 3 UHDs. This has some of the best sound and the hardest hitting audio at the highest possible level. It carries over from it’s wild movie franchise and it feels bigger than just TV. All of the dialogue is crisp, the tension is elevated, and the music has a massive boost to it. It has English SDH, French, German, Italian, Spanish, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, Norwegian, and Swedish subtitles. As far as technical aspects goes, IT: Welcome to Derry is top notch. It has all of the “Inside Derry” segments for all 8 that’s almost 60 minutes. Episodes 1, 5, and 8 actually get extended versions of their wrap ups and they go over every little story that takes place during Welcome to Derry. They are extremely detailed and informative. They break down important scenarios, fx, characters, production values, and nods to the original source material. It has multiple comments from some of the main cast and crew from it. I always love that HBO does these inside the episode featurettes for most of their shows. It always adds more depth, motivation, and details about why they did certain things for this. It has the almost 6 minute “Welcome to Derry”. It has interviews with series runners Andy Muschietti, Jason Fuchs, and Barbara Muschietti. It has additional conversations with Brad Kane, Rudy Mancuso, Jovan Adepo, Taylour Paige, and Chris Chalk. It’s inspired from the interludes of the novel. They go over the concept, the origins, character motivations, and it teases what’s to come with this IT universe extension. It has the little over 3 minute “Becoming Pennywise”. It has various interviews with the crew. It focuses on actor Bill Skarsgård coming back to his evil clown character. It has some behind the scenes footage and it shows the transformation into the monster. It has the little over 9 minute “Fear the Other”. It has comments from executive producers Andy Muschietti, Jason Fuchs, and Barbara Muschietti. Additional cast/crew members such as Brad Kane, Stephen Rider, Jovan Adepo, Taylour Paige, Morningstar Angeline, Arian S. Cartaya, Kimberly Guerrero, and Chris Chalk provide their thoughts on this Stephen King series. They go over the time period Welcome to Derry takes place in. They bring up what goes down in the first season. They discuss some of the issues that took place in the 60’s that includes racism and shady government. It comes with a slipcover. It’s a must own for any Stephen King or IT fan. It’s available everywhere right now, CHECK IT OUT!!!!