While HBO Max’s Stephen King show It: Welcome to Derry succeeded thanks to its superb cast, season 2 of the series will introduce a whole new set of main characters. With It: Welcome to Derry, HBO Max created a Stephen King series that could rival Netflix’s Stranger Things or Wednesday in terms of its record-breaking popularity on streaming. What made this all the more impressive was the fact that, unlike those two largely family-friendly horror shows, It: Welcome to Derry did not pull its punches at all.
Where even the far darker, bleaker Stranger Things season 1 stopped short of killing off its young main characters, It: Welcome to Derry stunned viewers and critics alike when the show’s pilot ended with the series killing off all but one of its protagonists. Not only were these characters sweet, likable heroes viewers had gotten invested in, but they were also young teenagers and, in one case, a small child.
The first episode’s ending was so shocking that it was tough to imagine how It: Welcome to Derry could possibly live up to this jaw-dropping shock, but season 1 managed this feat admirably. From killing off further young characters as the show’s story unfolded to ending with one of the most challenging depictions of murderous racism on TV in years, It: Welcome to Derry was a rough, unsparing watch. Luckily, the show’s young heroes were so lovable that their camaraderie kept viewers invested.
It: Welcome to Derry Season 2’s Story Features An All-New Cast (Except Pennywise)
That is why it is so surprising that It: Welcome to Derry’s season 2 renewal comes with confirmation that the sophomore outing of the Stephen King spinoff will introduce a whole new set of main characters. According to the official logline (via Deadline): “Season two takes place in 1935 during the Great Depression and centers on the bloody massacre of the Bradley Gang, a group of bank robbers who stop in Derry to buy ammo and end up facing unimaginable horror.”
Now, viewers who enjoyed the kid-centric viewpoint of season 1 can rest assured that the show isn’t entirely abandoning its young heroes. In an earlier interview with Variety, It director Andy Muschietti said, “The kids don’t have a suburban, comforting life. They’re in a very different situation. Some of them are orphans or runaways,” tacitly confirming that some of season 2’s main characters will still be children.
This is a pretty pivotal distinction since, like Netflix’s Stranger Things, It: Welcome to Derry relies on its young protagonists to encounter the show’s supernatural villain first before adults finally realize the threat that is consuming their small town. However, the fact that the Bradley Gang will play major roles in season 2 means that, even with a few new kid characters, It: Welcome to Derry’s second outing will be a major tonal departure.
It: Welcome to Derry Season 2’s New Characters Could Change The Stephen King Show’s Tone
Season 1’s kid heroes were easy to root for, whereas hardened criminals facing off against Pennywise will change the Stranger Things-esque tone into something darker. There is a good chance that It: Welcome to Derry will humanize these members of the gang, and the show is likely to explore the ways in which the Great Depression forced some of them into a life of crime despite their better natures.
That said, it is still tough to imagine a take on this premise that isn’t even darker and bleaker than season 1’s story. Throughout It: Welcome to Derry season 1, most of the adult characters, from uncaring bigoted townspeople to corrupt military officials, were untrustworthy and unsympathetic. Now, they’ll be replaced by bank robbers.
Only time will tell how It: Welcome to Derry pulls off this switch, but it’s worth noting that some of Stephen King’s best screen adaptations are movies and shows that feature truly heinous human characters alongside their supernatural threats. As such, there is a chance that It: Welcome to Derry’s cast change and subsequent darker tone could be even more great news for the already acclaimed show.
Source: Variety
- Release Date
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October 26, 2025
- Network
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HBO
- Directors
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Andy Muschietti
This story originally appeared on Screenrant
