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‘Welcome to Derry’ Drops Early Halloween Episode, Unveils Military Plot and ‘Shining’ Link as HBO Hit Grows

The prequel deepens Stephen King’s universe by tying Pennywise to a Cold War hunt and a pivotal psychic character, setting up a broader, backward‑told origin arc.

Overview

  • Episode 2 was released early for Halloween, with the nine‑episode season continuing weekly on HBO and HBO Max toward a December 14 finale.
  • The installment introduces Operation Precept, a covert Air Force program that seeks to track and weaponize the fear‑inducing entity beneath Derry.
  • Dick Hallorann (Chris Chalk) uses his ‘shine’ as the military’s psychic tracker, forging an explicit on‑screen bridge to The Shining.
  • Creators Andy and Barbara Muschietti tease an emotional finale built around a narrative ‘trick’ tied to the series’ reverse‑chronology design.
  • The show is charting as a major streaming success and is boosting viewership of the IT films on HBO Max, according to FlixPatrol‑tracked data.