HBO has officially renewed its Stephen King prequel series IT: Welcome to Derry for Season 2, setting the upcoming installment in 1935 during the Great Depression. Brad Caleb Kane takes over as sole showrunner for the sophomore run, while Andy and Barbara Muschietti return as executive producers.
Fans of the sinister shape-shifting entity haunting Maine won’t have to wait a full 27-year sleep cycle for more terror. The renewal arrives more than eight months after the freshman finale broadcast on December 14, according to TVLine.
Rewinding to the Great Depression and the Bradley Gang Massacre
While the first season was primarily set in 1962 and explored suburban horrors in the fictional town of Derry, Maine, Season 2 is traveling further back in time. According to the official logline provided across multiple reports, the new episodes will unfold in 1935 during the Great Depression and center on the bloody massacre of the Bradley Gang, a group of bank robbers who stop in the town to purchase ammunition and encounter unimaginable terror.
This particular storyline is pulled directly from the interludes of Stephen King’s original novel. Gizmodo notes that the Bradley Gang made brief appearances in the first season’s opening credits, while a vintage car tied to their crimes was unearthed through the psychic detective work of character Dick Hallorann. By shifting the timeline nearly three decades prior to Season 1, the series embraces an anthology structure.
“We are excited to return to the chilling world of Derry and to further expand on Andy and Barbara Muschietti’s horrifically iconic adaptation. Together with Brad Caleb Kane, they will break new ground in season two, deepening the terror, the mystery, and the unforgettable Pennywise lore that fans love to devour.”
Sarah Aubrey, Head of HBO Max Original Programming
Behind the Scenes and Creative Shifts for Season 2
Behind the camera, notable leadership adjustments accompany the renewal. While Jason Fuchs co-showran the first season alongside Brad Caleb Kane, Kane will now operate as the sole showrunner for Season 2. Meanwhile, sibling filmmakers Andy and Barbara Muschietti continue their oversight as executive producers through their Double Dream production banner, joined by Roy Lee, Dan Lin, Jamie Travis, and Dhana Gilbert.
Even before the formal greenlight was announced, Andy Muschietti revealed that a writers’ room had already opened, giving the creators a head start on shaping the depression-era atmosphere.
“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!”
Andy Muschietti and Barbara Muschietti, Executive Producers
A Bleak Aesthetic and Pennywise’s Nonlinear Nature
The economic devastation of the 1930s will fundamentally alter the visual and tonal landscape of the series. As Andy Muschietti described to Variety, Derry will resemble a physical and social graveyard during this era, populated by exhausted, impoverished, and displaced characters rather than the suburban comfort seen in the 1960s timeline.
Bill Skarsgård is expected to reprise his role as Pennywise the Dancing Clown, continuing the presence he established in the feature films IT (2017) and IT Chapter Two (2019). Crucially, the Season 1 finale established that the monster does not experience time linearly. As TVLine highlights, the creature’s ability to manipulate time suggests he might attempt to rewrite history to evade his eventual 2016 demise, forming part of a broader three-season blueprint mapped out by the creators.
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