There’s yet another Stephen King adaptation out right now, which is part of a larger trend of King adaptations getting a lot of love in 2025. IT: Welcome to Derry isn’t a direct adaptation of a King novel, but it is an original prequel series developed based on IT, a novel that King wrote and that has had its own adaptation (two of them, actually). The series is only two episodes in for the general public, but it’s already been given the King seal of approval.

Stephen King Likes IT: Welcome to Derry

Stephen King is generally pretty protective of his work, so while there have been countless adaptations of his writing, those who make those TV shows and movies usually try to get King’s approval and do his work justice with their version. With It: Welcome to Derry, the creators have done just that.

“I like ‘Welcome to Derry’ a lot,” King exclusively told The New York Post. “There are plenty of horrors and lots of surreal visuals. There’s a supermarket scare that sticks in my mind, complete with pickle jars.” The movie adaptation, which was split into two parts to get the full breadth and to see the story from the childhood and adult perspectives, was directed by Andy Muschietti, who is back with his wife to create this show.

“Andy Muschietti has got a touch of genius when it comes to scares,” King said about the director. “Folks are going to see some scenes in their nightmares… When Pennywise finally appears, he’s still scary as hell.” Pennywise hasn’t showed up yet in the first two episodes, at least not fully, but when he does, he’ll be portrayed by Bill Skarsgaard, the same actor who brought the horror clown to life in the movies.

Muschietti also spoke about King. The writer is involved with this show since it’s his universe and some of his characters. But the director noted that King’s fairly hands-off. “He’s not controlling everything we do, even though he’s blessing and screening everything that we show him. Of course, he’s obviously verbal when he doesn’t like something. But most of the time, he seems very excited and open to this creation,” he revealed.

“He was basically very generous with his creation and with his universe,” Brad Caleb Kane, the showrunner, also added. “He said, ‘Here it is. I’ve written it all down – play around in it… We shared it with him as we wrote it, and he guided us.” There are elements of King’s book present, including some of the weird background for Pennywise, but much of this comes exclusively from the minds of the writers, directors, and others involved. It’s not narratively from King, necessarily.

Kane said the creatives behind Welcome to Derry wanted to create something that King would “feel good about and be proud of,” and so far, they’ve done just that. The episodes air weekly on Sundays, streaming on HBO Max. Welcome to Derry is one of several King TV shows and movies this year, joining The Long Walk, The Life of Chuck, The Monkey, The Running Man, and The Institution.

Conclusion

Though this television show is not based directly on one of Stephen King’s works, which seems like a rarity these days, it is based on the universe he created. It’s something that, as a result, is fairly near and dear to the longtime author, so getting his seal of approval is both crucial and exciting. Fortunately, the showrunners have gotten that, and for what it’s worth, the first two episodes, streaming now, seem to be setting something quite exciting and interesting up.