IT: Welcome to Derry — Release Date, Episode 2 Drop Time, Cast, and When Pennywise Appears

Welcome to Derry (also styled IT: Welcome to Derry) has arrived to extend Stephen King’s nightmare town into a weekly event. The prequel series debuted on October 26, 2025, and Episode 2 gets a special early drop for Halloween weekend, making timing and schedules the biggest questions fans are asking—right alongside when Bill Skarsgård’s Pennywise shows up.

Welcome to Derry release date and schedule

The series premiered Sunday, October 26, 2025. Season 1 runs eight episodes, airing weekly on Sundays through mid-December.

Planned U.S. schedule (subject to change):

• Ep1 — Oct 26 (Sun)

• Ep2 — Nov 2 (Sun) (early streaming drop noted below)

• Ep3 — Nov 9 (Sun)

• Ep4 — Nov 16 (Sun)

• Ep5 — Nov 23 (Sun)

• Ep6 — Nov 30 (Sun)

• Ep7 — Dec 7 (Sun)

• Ep8 (Finale) — Dec 14 (Sun)

What time does Welcome to Derry come out?

Episode 2 early release:

• Streaming apps are releasing Ep2 early on Friday, Oct 31 in the U.S. Expect it around 12:00 a.m. PT / 3:00 a.m. ET. Some listings display an earlier 12:00 a.m. ET timestamp; if your app shows that, it may appear right at midnight Eastern. Practical tip: refresh your app shortly after the hour.

Regular weekly slot (U.S.):

• Sundays at 9:00 p.m. ET / 9:00 p.m. PT on the linear channel, with the episode also available to stream Sunday evening.

UK timing (guide):

• If your platform mirrors the early U.S. streaming drop, that lands Friday morning (typically 07:00 GMT when the U.S. drop is 3:00 a.m. ET). The Sunday linear U.S. airing corresponds to 02:00 GMT Monday for late-night viewers. Always check your local app listing; regional platforms sometimes adjust by a few hours.

Welcome to Derry cast — who’s in it?

The series blends new faces and familiar presences from the IT universe:

• Bill Skarsgård — Pennywise (returning)

• Taylour Paige — Charlotte Hanlon

• Jovan Adepo — Leroy Hanlon

• James Remar — General Francis Shaw

• Stephen Rider — Hank Grogan

• Chris Chalk — Dick Hallorann (a key King connective thread)

• Matilda Lawler, Clara Stack, Amanda Christine, Blake Cameron James, Miles Ekhardt, Mikkal Karim-Fidler, Jack Molloy Legault, Matilda Legault, and more across the town’s kids-and-adults ensemble.

Pennywise in Welcome to Derry — how much Skarsgård do we get?

The show dials up slow-burn dread. Pennywise’s presence is teased early on, with the creative approach favoring build-up over constant screen time in the opening chapters. That means Episode 1 uses absence and implication as a weapon; Episode 2 begins turning the screw as the town’s horrors tighten around the kids and the Hanlon family storyline. Expect Pennywise to loom larger as the season advances toward December.

Welcome to Derry Episode 2 — what to know before you watch

• Setting & tone: We’re in 1962 Derry, Maine, decades before the modern films, amid Cold War unease and small-town rot.

• Focus: The narrative splits between a young ensemble grappling with disappearances and visions, and Air Force storylines tied to the local base—threads that widen the IT mythos beyond the sewer grates.

• Pacing: The show favors atmosphere, period detail, and mounting paranoia, then punctures it with jolting set-pieces. Episode 2 continues that rhythm, paying off premiere-night teases while seeding longer arcs.

It show vs. IT movies — how the prequel fits

If you’re coming from It (2017) and It Chapter Two (2019), the series plays as a lore-expander rather than a retread. Look for:

• New origins and forms that hint at how the entity adopts the Pennywise avatar.

• Derry-wide corruption beyond the clown—suggesting the town itself is a vector.

• Cross-King connections through characters and locations that longtime readers will clock.

Quick answers to trending questions

• When does Welcome to Derry come out? New episodes Sundays; Episode 2 streams early on Fri, Oct 31 (U.S.), then airs Sun, Nov 2 in its regular slot.

• What time does Welcome to Derry come out? Early U.S. streaming ~12:00 a.m. PT / 3:00 a.m. ET (some apps list 12:00 a.m. ET). Weekly linear airing 9:00 p.m. ET/PT Sundays.

• How many episodes? Eight, finale targeted for Dec 14, 2025.

• Is Pennywise in it? Yes—Bill Skarsgård returns, with a slow-burn rollout that escalates across the season.

• Welcome to Derry review snapshot: Early reactions praise period vibe, production design, and dread, while noting a big ensemble and a measured reveal of the clown.

Keep this page handy for weekly timing tweaks as apps update regional release windows; for now, set your alarm for the Halloween-weekend early drop and brace for Derry’s next scream.