IT: Welcome to Derry Season 1 episode 2: Release date & time, where to watch, and what to expect

HBO's latest supernatural horror series, IT: Welcome to Derry Season 1, continues to expand the terrifying universe of Stephen King’s 1986 novel, IT. The horror series was developed by Andy and Barbara Muschietti alongside Jason Fuchs, with Andy directing multiple episodes of the first season. Set in Derry, Maine, the prequel series explores the origins of the darkness that birthed Pennywise the Dancing Clown, which first took root in the 1960s. The series will examine how fear, prejudice and trauma amount to something monstrous. And with the second episode arriving sooner than expected, the terror in Derry is only beginning to unfold.

IT: Welcome to Derry Season 1 Episode 2 release details explored

The upcoming episode of IT: Welcome to Derry, Season 1, will be released early, just in time for Halloween. Episode 2 will be released on October 31, 2025, at 12 am PT/3 am ET exclusively on HBO Max in the United States, giving fans a perfect reason to stay up late for some Halloween scares. It will also air on HBO on November 2, 2025, at 6 pm PT/9 pm ET for traditional viewers.

Following Episode 2, new installments will return to their usual Sunday slot on HBO and HBO Max. Here’s a region-based table for the release timing of the upcoming episode:

What to expect from IT: Welcome to Derry Season 1 Episode 2

IT: Welcome to Derry. Season 1 pushes the horror even further. Episode 1, titled The Pilot, introduced a group of kids in 1962 who stumble upon the evil lurking beneath their town after their friend Matty mysteriously disappears. Their investigation leads them to the local movie theater, where Pennywise makes his terrifying return — this time through a monstrous, demonic baby that brings an unimaginable level of carnage.

The episode’s final moments left viewers stunned. In a sequence that critics have already called one of the most disturbing in the series, most of the children are brutally killed inside the theater, leaving only Lilly and Ronnie alive. The blood-soaked finale instantly set the tone for a show that isn’t afraid to take big, horrifying risks. In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, co-creator Andy Muschietti explained that they intentionally ended the premiere episode with the unexpected and chilling death of the kids in the theater to give the audience the feeling that no one is safe in this prequel series.

The series isn’t just a rehash of the IT movies; it’s a full-blown expansion of the cinematic universe, peeling back layers of the town’s history and fear. Episode 2 will likely pick up immediately after the massacre, following Lilly and Ronnie as they process their trauma and try to uncover what really happened in the Capitol Theater. The episode will also expand on the story of Major Leroy Hanlon, portrayed by Jovan Adepo. Leroy is shown as a decorated war hero navigating racial tensions in 1960s Derry. The series shows him involved in secret military projects and he also has certain secret encounters with masked figures, all of which could probably contribute to how Derry’s human evils intertwine with Pennywise’s supernatural terror.

Given Muschietti’s comments about “raising the intensity and spectacle,” Episode 2 is set to dig even deeper into Derry’s history and the strange forces feeding its darkness. Expect more clues about Pennywise’s origins, eerie callbacks to Stephen King’s mythology and possibly the first hint at the town’s connection to the cosmic Turtle teased in the creator’s recent interviews.

With IT: Welcome to Derry, Season 1 episode 2, arriving early for Halloween, fans can expect even more blood, tension and mystery as Pennywise’s reign of terror begins anew.