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The debut of It: Welcome to Derry over the coming days transports audiences back to 1962, as a new group of youngsters faces an age-old, fear-consuming jester. Considering the original It story revolved heavily around adolescents in danger, it's unsurprising that this show continues a comparable trajectory. However, Welcome to Derry escalates the frights to a greater degree than the latest films, setting its harsh tone quicker than anyone might expect.

An Icy Beginning in a Cursed City

The series starts on a snowy winter evening in the cursed community of Derry, Maine, taking place in the year 1962. After being ejected of a movie theater for sneaking in and declining to return home to his violent guardians, a pre-teen youth (Miles Ekhardt) holds onto his soother for solace while thumbing a ride away from town. When he is eventually given a ride, the freezing boy accepts. Very soon, however, for him to understand the scale of his error.

We'll stop at this point to prevent spoiling any details from the episode. Suffice to state that Welcome to Derry acts quickly in demonstrating just how explicit and frightening the program is set to be, particularly regarding the violence experienced by children in the town.

From start to finish, the series' debut episode demonstrates its makers have no fear to "go there," to the point that it likely ought to include a graphic content warning for those uncomfortable to violence against children; it's really that gruesome.

An New Approach to Horror

Showrunner the series' lead has in the past likened Pennywise to the shark from Jaws, a creature shown in brief looks that builds toward a grand payoff. In Welcome to Derry, though, the focus shifts toward more shapeshifting horrors reminiscent of Stephen King's original book. Thanks to the longer duration and prestige of an premium production, the show takes its time delving into these terrors instead of rushing to highlight Pennywise, leading to a more unsettling, heightened horror than the recent adaptations.

Is It Suitable?

Every audience member with even a passing familiarity of It ought to understand what they're in for when it involves brutality against children, but Welcome to Derry cranks the volume up to 11 when compared to the TV series and including the films. Given that, it deserves a public service announcement if those versions are where one sets their limit. Nevertheless, It: Welcome to Derry remains an excellent series with a premiere episode that's a ideal viewing for the Halloween season.

• Explicit content involving children
• Extended runtime for deeper fear exploration
• Increased transformative monsters from the original novel
• Establishes a darker atmosphere than previous versions