Overview
- The series premieres Sunday, Oct. 26 at 9 p.m. ET on HBO and HBO Max, launches weekly, and runs eight episodes, with critics screened five in advance.
- Set in 1962 and created by Andy and Barbara Muschietti with Jason Fuchs, the prequel brings back Bill Skarsgård’s Pennywise with a deliberately delayed on‑screen reveal and shape‑shifting scares.
- Reviewers highlight a shocking opening and sustained, graphic body‑horror with strong production values, while noting some uneven character work and narrative clutter.
- The story folds in real‑world themes of racism, Indigenous land issues and Cold War tensions, and includes Stephen King universe links such as Dick Hallorann played by Chris Chalk.
- Creators outline a backward multi‑season plan tied to Pennywise’s 27‑year cycles, pointing to 1935 and 1908 for future seasons, as writers tease stakes that extend beyond life and death for the characters.