2025 really was just the year of solid Stephen King adaptations. The Long Walk, The Running Man, and now this. This particular adaptation is a series based on one of writer Stephen King’s more popular works, It. This story famously follows an interdimensional being that feeds on fear and disguises itself as a clown to terrorize the town of Derry, Maine. This novel prompted a miniseries adaptation in the 90s and soon two film adaptations in 2017 and 2019. This particular series, Welcome to Derry, takes place decades before the original story and follows a new group of characters as they face off against our titular antagonist, Pennywise the Dancing Clown. This series not only draws you in with its compelling story, the relationships between its complex characters, and its utilization of different real-world themes such as discrimination, the role of the military, and colonialism to tie into the evil of Pennywise itself, but it also dives deeper into the lore and cosmic origins of Pennywise, even cleverly tying in other Stephen King stories into its narrative such as The Shining, Shashank Redemption, The Mist, and others. (The inclusion and utilization of Dick Halloran’s character, who is originally from The Shining and its sequel, Doctor Sleep, was masterfully done.) Bill Skarsgard returns to once again deliver his award winning performance as Pennywise. As a horror series first and foremost, it of course had its fair share of scares, with Pennywise using his signature shapeshifting abilities to terrorize and exploit the past traumas of our cast of characters that not only consists of kids this time around, but adults as well. (Pennywise’s methods in this series are definitely more twisted than his usual fare, and nobody is safe.) I will say, this series is a bit of slow burn, delving into the theme of systemic evil and character relations more than the scares themselves. However, the series’ methods of character building and storytelling made for a satisfying and surprisingly emotional payoff, and with two more seasons on the way that will go back on time and follow Pennywise’s other cycles, as I mentioned before, 2025 really was the year of solid Stephen King adaptations. Score: 8/10
Noah Robinson 