Next stop 1935: HBO renews IT: Welcome to Derry, Bradley Gang Massacre ahead
Pennywise isn’t finished with you yet: HBO’s ordered more IT: Welcome to Derry, jumping back to 1935 for a particularly grim chapter.
Right, so Pennywise just refuses to go quietly, doesn't he? IT: Welcome to Derry is getting another run on HBO Max, which I suppose shouldn't surprise anyone with a pulse and even a passing knowledge of how well the show's been doing. If you like your clowns with a side of cosmic nightmare, congratulations—more's on the way.
Season 2: Back in Time—Literally
This next outing is set in 1935, right in the thick of the Great Depression. But instead of economic woes, the real problem for our unlucky visitors is, as ever, Derry's appetite for blood. The new episodes are going all in on the infamous 'Bradley Gang Massacre', dragging a band of bank robbers into Pennywise's playground. What starts as a routine ammo stop turns into, well, absolute carnage—because nothing good ever happens when you loiter in Stephen King's favourite nightmare town.
The show, as usual, remains under the chunky umbrella of Andy and Barbara Muschietti (they're back again, clearly gluttons for punishment), with Brad Caleb Kane steering the ship as showrunner. Apparently expanding King's universe is still a gleeful prospect for the pair—here's how they put it when news broke about the renewal:
Continuing to explore and expand on the amazing world Stephen King created is an absolute privilege. The support of our partners at HBO and Warner Bros. Television is priceless. Boy do we love our jobs!
Pennywise Pulls in the Numbers
Just to put the numbers in context: Season 1 averaged 11.5 million U.S. viewers per episode, and if you add in the rest of the world, nearly 20 million folks tuned in every week. That's not just solid—it's a juggernaut, even by HBO's recent standards. Only House of the Dragon and The Last of Us pulled off bigger debuts on HBO Max, which is saying something.
IT: Welcome to Derry is HBO Max’s third-largest series launch ever, just behind House of the Dragon and The Last of Us.
Pennywise: The Eternal Menace
The character of Pennywise really is having an extended moment. After Andy Muschietti's 2017 revival, the clown's gone toe-to-toe with the horror icons of every decade. Sure, there will always be loyalists for Tim Curry's version, but Bill Skarsgård’s take has plastered Pennywise back in the public psyche like never before. A second season means the terror continues, and the world's collective coulrophobia is set to get a proper workout. Standard warning: Be careful what you wish for—you just might get it in 1930s Derry, with teeth.