Overview
- HBO rolled out episode 2 on Halloween ahead of its regular Sunday timeslot, with the linear airing still set for 9 p.m. ET.
- The new episode introduces Operation Precept, a covert Air Force effort intent on finding and potentially weaponizing the fear-based entity haunting Derry.
- Dick Hallorann’s psychic abilities are enlisted by the military, explicitly tying the prequel to The Shining within a shared King universe.
- An excavation tied to the Bradley Gang expands the show’s lore and signals threads the creators plan to follow as the story moves backward through earlier cycles.
- The premiere attracted 5.7 million U.S. viewers in three days, placing the launch among HBO’s top three in the HBO Max era.