This HBO series is the only show you should watch right now

This article contains spoilers for “It: Welcome to Derry.”

“It: Welcome To Derry” is one of the most captivating television series of the year, and Sunday’s episode is a prime example of its excellence.

The new HBO series is a prequel to the “It” movies, which were adapted from Stephen King’s 1986 novel of the same name. The eight-episode series premiered in October and became HBO Max’s No. 3 premiere in terms of viewers, after “House of the Dragon” and “The Last of Us,” Variety reported.

“It: Welcome To Derry” is set in 1962 in Derry, Maine, some 27 years before the end of the first film. U.S. Air Force Maj. Leroy Hanlon, his wife Charlotte, and their son, Will, moved to the city base just after a child went missing. A group of kids, quite similar to the Losers Club made famous in “It,” begin searching for him and run into a world of trouble. The Air Force and its local commanders are also trying to contain the evil “entity” that is wreaking havoc on the city. In short, everything is going wrong.

In episode 7, which aired Sunday night, all hell breaks loose and it’s worth digging into the details. In this chat, News staff talk about the series, its cast, and why everyone needs to watch this incredibly disturbing series.

All about the cast and the best performances.

I had no idea what to expect when I started watching “It: Welcome To Derry.” But in every episode, the performances consistently impress me. The cast is led by Jovan Adepo, who you may know from another amazing HBO series, “Watchmen.” Adepo plays Leroy Hanlon, an Air Force major who moves to Derry with his wife Charlotte (Taylour Paige) and son Will (Blake Cameron James). Chris Chalk has a notable role as the sensitive Dick Hallorann, and every time he appears on screen, he gives me chills because he is so good at playing this disturbing role. Will and his friends, Marge (Matilda Lawler), Rich (Arian S. Cartaya), Lilly (Clara Stark) and Ronnie (Amanda Christine), are the central children of the story and form an impressive group of young actors. Marge’s evolution throughout this seven-episode arc has been a lot of fun to watch, and watching her build a closeness with Rich was one of those plotlines that was satisfying to watch even though it ended in devastating fashion. I opened up an entire section for us to chat about Bill Skarsgård’s menacing performance as Pennywise. — Ireland

My favorite actor/character on the show is, hands down, Hallorann from Chalk. He portrays it with such mystique, but he’s also one of the few experts on Derry who has any idea what’s wreaking havoc on everyone, including himself. For me, he’s one of the most powerful characters on the show, both mentally and performatively. Leroy de Adepo is also up there, as one of the few willing to change things. Little by little the corruption of the military is becoming clear, and you can almost feel the intensity of its spiral. Ronnie, Will, Marge, Rich and Lilly are also excellently portrayed; I’ve been a fan of Cameron James’ performance since I saw him in “We Grown Now.” I appreciate that the innocence of the children adds some levity to the show’s heavier moments, especially Marge and Rich’s (short-lived) bond, which I’m definitely going to miss. Even though this cast shrinks depending on the episode (I really wonder who will be alive at the end of the finale), they all help to make “Welcome to Derry” such an interesting watch. — Man

The Best ‘It’ Easter Eggs

There are a lot of obvious Easter eggs in this adaptation: the surnames Hanlon and Uris as part of the Losers Club in “It”; Hallorann of Chalk is the namesake of King’s “The Shining”; Hallorann teaches Danny (Danny Lloyd) how to use his psychic powers. But my favorite Easter eggs are in connection with King’s “The Shawshank Redemption”: Clint Bowers threatens Ronnie’s father, Hank, with a prison sentence in Shawshank, and then Hank is led onto a bus to Shawshank Prison just before all hell breaks loose. — Ireland

Hallorann’s “shiny” powers might be the best and most effective Easter egg of the entire series, as it’s a crucial component of the military mission to locate Pennywise’s lair. He also mentions his grandmother in a scene where a woman is seen floating above him. In King’s “It,” it is known that Hallorann’s grandmother also has the Bright power and taught her how to use it. There are also a lot of foreshadowing characters hinted at in the show, like Alvin Marsh, Beverly’s abusive father from the Losers Club. In episode 1, her name is written inside a heart on the wall when Lilly and Marge are in the school bathroom. There’s also Derry Police Chief Clint Bowers, who shares a last name with thug Henry Bowers. And of course, there’s the Black Spot fire from King’s novel, which becomes another central and disturbing plot point in episode 7. Man

Why episode 7 was so good and heartbreaking

Brooke Palmer

First of all, I was speechless for half the episode because I couldn’t believe this absolutely wild series of events. After last week’s cliffhanger, I had already prepared myself for the worst to happen in Black Spot, but my goodness, “Welcome to Derry” literally became scorched earth. I know the scariest part of the show is supposed to be It/Pennywise, but as a black viewer, the racial horror scares me a lot more. Watching the club go up in flames while the white mob fired bullets inside was heartbreaking enough, but the fact that they also locked everyone inside to make sure they didn’t escape filled me with rage and sadness. It was bad enough watching the black soldiers and clubgoers get picked off one by one or die in the fire, but watching Rich (Arian S. Cartaya) sacrifice himself so Marge could hide in the trunk broke my heart. He didn’t deserve to go out like that. The scene where he was playing with the club band was really his last moment of happiness. His death will undoubtedly leave a big mark on the children, along with the rest of their friends they lost due to Pennywise’s cruelty. I’m glad that Will (Blake Cameron James), Ronnie (Amanda Christine), Hank (Stephen Rider) and Hallorann (Chris Chalk) were able to emerge unscathed, although far from unscathed. That night will probably haunt them for a long time.

On the other hand, Episode 7 also started with another sad scene, finally showing us how Pennywise was taken over to begin with. It seems a little silly that all it took was a random boy showing up to lure him into the dark forest, but that’s exactly how Ingrid (Madeleine Stowe) lost her father, and she’s been searching for him ever since; hence his own clown costume. It’s a little crazy that he thought the bloodshed from the fire and the fear of everyone present would take out Pennywise (who he still wholeheartedly believes is his father) and they’d have a nice little family reunion. But boy, did he have a rude awakening. I understand that she desperately wants to find him, but I don’t think she’s thought about what this trick could trigger. And unfortunately for us, we’ll find out in the end. — Man

How the program addresses career

HBO

I never read the novel “It,” so I didn’t know how deep its racial themes were. However, in my opinion, “Welcome to Derry” has done a good job of clarifying this everyday racist horror story along with its supernatural attack on the people of Derry. Which also makes this show a lot darker when you think about how characters like Hallorann, Will, and Ronnie have to deal with both terrors on a daily basis. Not to mention the racism that Major Leroy also faces at the military base from his fellow service members. They all help form the consensus that, no matter what’s terrorizing this city (or anywhere in America), people need something to blame for the world’s ills.

As a civil rights activist, Taylour Paige’s character Charlotte Hanlon (Leroy’s wife and Will’s mother) has the most overt connection to how “Welcome to Derry” addresses racism, which is arguably the biggest and most disturbing monster of all on the show. We see this mostly in how he tries to help Hank, who has become the scapegoat for all the missing children in the city (as if that weren’t enough, he’s also having an affair with Ingrid, another sure way to get him killed by the local racists).

Paige explained her character’s role in this complex narrative in an interview with Variety, saying, “What could be more insidious than racism and people being murdered because of the color of their skin?”

She continued: “Even when I met [co-creators] Barbara and Andy [Muschietti]”I thought it was an interesting and complex way to represent Cold War racism in America in 1962. You have a lot more to do than just figure out who is killing these children, and the show considers scapegoating, how society needs an enemy.”

The racist undertones of “Welcome to Derry,” in fact, make it more intense to watch. But it also elevates the series from being just another scary version of “It” to something with much more substance. — Man

“Welcome to Derry” really makes me want to read the book; I know there is much more to unravel and understand from King’s novel. (It’s over 1,100 pages long!) In some ways, it seems like the creators of “Welcome To Derry” (Andy Muschietti, Barbara Muschietti and Jason Fuchs also worked on the “It” movies) are trying to make up for some of the films’ sore spots. A former colleague wrote an essay criticizing the 2017 film “It” for erasing Mike Hanlon’s narrative.

“The film doesn’t just flatten Mike’s backstory. It reduces him to the kind of token black character that King’s novel was so adept at avoiding. In the film, Mike barely has any lines,” Zak Cheney-Rice wrote for Mic in 2017. “His blackness seems largely incidental. And as a result, the film never has to address the confusing topic of race or how it influences the life of the lone black character.”

Luckily, the TV show can really delve into more complex themes and is paying off big time with these new stories featuring Hanlon’s family alongside the Ronnie and Hank storyline. — Ireland

Bill Skarsgård is amazing as Pennywise

HBO

When Pennywise makes his full appearance in episode 5, I was scared to death. The preparation to finally see him in all his clown glory was worth it. It’s easy to immediately want to compare Skarsgård’s performance to Tim Curry’s role in the miniseries “It.” Frankly, there’s something sinister and disturbingly ridiculous about Skarsgård’s Pennywise that I enjoy, and I love that he’s made Pennywise uniquely his own. — Ireland

Skarsgård was absolutely terrifying in the “It” movies, and he is equally terrifying in “Welcome to Derry.” Something about his version of Pennywise is so creepy that it works perfectly for the character himself. I love that the show worked its way up to fully introducing Pennywise, instead of having him fully appear at the beginning of the season. It just added a sense of eeriness to what we knew would eventually come: absolute terror by r part of this crazy clown. I’m glad the series brought back Skarsgård in this role, because I can’t imagine who else today could top his performance. — Man

Theories for the end

I’m still so shocked by episode 7 that I don’t even know where to start. Pennywise catches Will, but this can’t be the end of Will’s story. I’m really curious to see what happens to Hank and if he’ll be able to cross the border. Poor, poor Marge. The only thing I’m sure of is that Pennywise is about to wreak havoc on Derry, and I’m terrified to see exactly what happens next. All I know is that HBO better renew that season for season 2. Ireland

I just pray that he does. is throughout the season, and that Hank is ultimately not crucified for what Pennywise has done to the town’s children. But as we’ve seen so far this season, nothing and no one’s destiny is guaranteed a happy ending. And with a show like this, we can only prepare ourselves for what will probably be the scariest episode yet. I hope we don’t have to wait forever for season 2, because there’s no way this season finale is going to give us all the closure we need. — Man

“It: Welcome To Derry” airs on HBO and HBO Max on Sunday nights.