Executive producer Andy Muschietti has revealed It author Stephen King’s level of involvement with the It: Welcome to Derry TV series
The upcoming TV series It: Welcome to Derry, which will serve as a prequel to Warner Bros’ two-part adaptation of the classic Stephen King novel It (pick up a copy HERE), was originally meant to be for the Max streaming service, but we recently learned that it will be airing on HBO as well. The show went into production in Port Hope, Ontario at the end of last year, aiming for a 2025 premiere, and wrapped in August after 237 shooting days. We’re still waiting to hear exactly when the nine episode first season is going to start airing – but yesterday, we learned that the plan is for the show to run for three seasons, with the story going further into the past each season. That information came from executive producer Andy Muschietti, who directed the two It feature films, and he has also revealed just how involved Stephen King is with this show.
Brad Caleb Kane (Tokyo Vice) and Jason Fuchs (Wonder Woman), who was a co-producer on It: Chapter Two, are the showrunners on It: Welcome to Derry (and Kane recently signed on to be showrunner on the Friday the 13th series Crystal Lake as well.) The show is being executive produced by Andy Muschietti and Barbara Muschietti, the sibling director/producer duo that was behind the two It movies, through their production company Double Dream. Kane and Fuchs are also executive producing, as are Shelley Meals, Roy Lee, and Dan Lin. The series is produced by HBO Max and Warner Bros. Television.
Fuchs wrote the script for the first episode, working from a story he crafted with the Muschiettis. Andy Muschietti has directed four episodes of the nine-episode series.
Stephen King had this to say about the series: “I’m excited that the story of Derry, Maine’s most haunted city, is continuing, and I’m glad Andy Muschietti is going to be overseeing the frightening festivities, along with a brain trust including his talented sister, Barbara. Red balloons all around!“ The Muschiettis added, “As teenagers, we took turns reading chapters of Stephen King’s It until the thick paperback fell to pieces. It is an epic story that contains multitudes, far beyond what we could explore in our It movies. We can’t wait to share the depths of Steve’s novel, in all its heart, humor, humanity, and horror.“
The cast of Welcome to Derry includes Taylour Paige (Zola), Jovan Adepo (Watchmen), Chris Chalk (Perry Mason), James Remar (Dexter), Madeleine Stowe (Revenge), Stephen Rider (Daredevil), Alixandra Fuchs (Hatfields & McCoys), Kimberly Guerrero (The English), Dorian Grey (Star Trek: Discovery), Thomas Mitchell (Gangland Undercover), BJ Harrison (Family Law), Peter Outerbridge (Saw VI), Shane Marriott (Law & Order Toronto: Criminal Intent), Chad Rook (Billy the Kid), Joshua Odjick (Little Bird), Rudy Mancuso (Música), and Morningstar Angeline (Westworld). We don’t know anything about the characters they’ll be playing, either. In fact, the only character we know anything about is Pennywise.
Muschietti told Radio TU (with thanks to MovieWeb for the transcription), “Stephen King has to approve everything. But it was really informal this time. I’ve had a close relationship with Stephen King since I made the movies. He writes to me, and I write him back. It’s an honor for me, and I consider him a friend. One day, I wrote to him and said, ‘We have this idea, which is to develop the interludes in a miniseries that will take place before the events of the movie,’ and he loved it. He said, ‘Let’s do it!’ Obviously, as we progressed, we kept showing him the work, and he approved the first draft of the script. Then we showed him where we would take the future seasons of the show. He trusts us because of what we did with the movies, which he loved as much as audiences did.“
Are you looking forward to It: Welcome to Derry? What do you think of Stephen King’s level of involvement with the show? Let us know by leaving a comment below.
