It: Welcome to Derry Co-creator Barbara Muschietti made an interesting comparison, indirectly linking Stephen King with George R. R. Martin. The HBO series, based on Stephen King’s It novels, officially premiered yesterday, on October 23, on HBO and HBO Max.
Muschietti noted that the brutal deaths depicted in the pilot episode are reminiscent of Martin’s infamous “Red Wedding” from Game of Thrones. Fans are already aware that many of the main characters meet their demise in this episode, and Welcome to Derry follows a similar narrative strategy. In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, she stated,
We love it. It’s our Red Wedding.
Episode 1 wastes no time establishing the series’ horror. The premiere opens with young Matty (Miles Ekhardt) attempting to leave Derry, only to encounter “It,” disguised as a seemingly kind family. Four years later, his friends Lilly (Clara Stack), Ronnie (Amanda Christine), Phil (Jack Molloy Legault), Teddy (Mikkal Karim-Fidler), and Susie (Matilda Legault) investigate his disappearance. At the end of episode 1, only Lilly and Ronnie survive.
Muschietti, who co-created the series alongside her brother Andy Muschietti and Jason Fuchs, acknowledged that the bloodbath was a strategy to shock the audience,
This is strategically a devastating event to set the audience into that sense of ‘nothing is safe in this world.’ We kind of tricked the audience into thinking that these are the new Losers. Well, guess what? I guess they’re all dead.
The show’s approach to horror emphasizes that, indeed, no character is safe, potentially inspired by both King’s and Martin’s writing.
What Was Barbara Muschietti’s Original Pilot Script For It: Welcome to Derry?
According to Muschietti and co-creator Jason Fuchs, the pilot’s shocking deaths were not in the original script. King’s novel opens with the swift death of Gerogie Denbrough, as seen in the 2017 It movie. However, in Welcome to Derry’s original script, all five children survived the pilot.
A mini writer’s room, including Fuchs, Brad Caleb Kane, and the Muschietti siblings, devised the bloodbath to replicate the audience shock they envisioned. Fuchs recalled,
It was a product of that mini room experience where we decided, ‘What if this happened?’
He added,
Andy theatrically stood up as I was pitching. I got to the part where all of them, other than Lilly and Ronnie, being eaten. Andy pulled the paper down, and there was a whole other group of kids [headshots] under there. I’ll never forget seeing their faces and feeling like, ‘If we can replicate their reaction in the room with audiences at home, we’ll have a really interesting, exciting, satisfying way to end episode 1.’
Barbara Muschietti added that HBO was fully supportive, even though the team expected resistance. The creative team also introduced a “mutant baby” form of Pennywise inspired by 1960s fears of radiation and societal anxieties.
It: Welcome to Derry Episode 2 Gets an Early Release Date
To celebrate Halloween, HBO will release Episode 2 of It: Welcome to Derry three days early on HBO Max, Friday, October 31, at 12:00 a.m. PT / 3:00 a.m. ET. The episode will air on HBO as originally scheduled on Sunday, November 2, at 9:00 p.m. ET/PT (via Deadline).
| Network | Episode 2 Release Date | Episode 2 Release Time |
| HBO Max | Friday, October 31, 2025 | 12:00 a.m. PT / 3:00 a.m. ET |
| HBO | Sunday, November 2 | 9:00 p.m. ET/PT. |
Subsequent episodes will continue the regular Sunday release schedule, leading to the season finale on December 14.
Episode 1 of It: Welcome to Derry proved the series is not afraid to shock and subvert expectations. With Episode 2 arriving early for Halloween, fans can expect more suspense and surprises.
Will you be tuning in for the early release to see what happens next in Derry? Let us know your thoughts and theories.
It: Welcome to Derry episodes arrive every Sunday on HBO and HBO Max (US).
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