There’s always a bit of hesitation that comes with expanding something like It: Welcome to Derry. The story of Pennywise has already been explored in a way that feels pretty definitive, especially in It and It Chapter Two. So the question going in to this new adventure is obvious, does this actually add anything, or is it just stretching the mythology thinner?
Surprisingly, it adds quite a bit.
What Welcome to Derry does best is shift the focus. Yes, the looming presence of Pennywise is still there, and the show definitely taps into that same creeping dread, but this isn’t just about the monster. It’s about the town. The history. The cycles that keep repeating long before anyone fully understands why.
At its core, the series still holds onto that idea of childhood innocence being corrupted, but it pushes beyond that in a way that feels more deliberate. It starts digging into the darker layers of Derry itself and the kind of generational trauma and buried history that doesn’t just disappear. Abuse, racism, psychological scars, even the erasure and exploitation tied to Indigenous land… it’s all woven into the fabric of the story. Not in a heavy-handed way, but enough that you can feel the weight of it. By the time it all comes together, the show isn’t just asking you to fear what’s lurking in the shadows, it’s asking you to look at what people are capable of.
And honestly, that’s where it hits hardest.
The tone is a little different from the films. It’s slower, more methodical, and a lot more interested in atmosphere than immediate payoff. Some episodes take their time, building tension in small, almost quiet ways before letting things unravel. It won’t work for everyone, but I appreciated the patience. It gives the horror more room to breathe.
Performance-wise, the cast does a strong job carrying that tone. There’s a grounded quality to the characters that makes everything feel more believable, even when things start to get strange. No one feels like they’re just there to service the plot, they feel like people who’ve been living in this town long before we showed up.
Visually, the show leans into a darker, more textured look than the films. There’s a constant sense of unease baked into the frame, whether it’s through lighting, composition, or just the way scenes linger a little longer than you expect. It’s not trying to overwhelm you with jump scares. The 4K presentation really helps bring that out. The added resolution sharpens up the finer details in faces, environments, the small background elements that quietly build the world. HDR does a lot of the heavy lifting, especially in darker scenes, where shadow detail remains strong without washing everything out. Blacks are deep, highlights are controlled, and the overall image has a nice balance that suits the show’s tone perfectly. Color grading stays fairly restrained, which works in its favor. There’s no artificial pop, just a natural, slightly muted palette that keeps everything grounded while still allowing certain moments to stand out when they need to.
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Without getting into spoilers, if there’s any drawback, it’s that the pacing might feel a bit too slow. It’s not always in a rush to get where it’s going, and that can create a few stretches where it feels like it’s circling rather than moving forward. I found myself in this mindset a few weeks in a row and I would be lying if I didn’t tell you it was frustrating. I was excited to see this, so I tuned in every week to watch a new episode. Could a binge watch have a better effect? It might pay off and I would love to know what you thought if you watched it all in a weekend.
By the end, It: Welcome to Derry proves itself as more than just an extension of an already popular story. It deepens the mythology, expands the world, and adds a layer of thematic weight that makes it feel worthwhile on its own terms. It’s not just about where Pennywise came from. It’s about why a place like Derry keeps needing something like him in the first place and that’s a much more unsettling idea. Whether that aspect works or not will be up to you. I recommend a watch if you made this far into the review.
Have you seen it yet? Are you a fan of this series and movies? Let me know what you think in the comments below.
Cheers,
Matt.
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