{
  "id": 17449013,
  "title": "‘It: Welcome to Derry’ Surprise Halloween Episode Now Streaming On HBO Max",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/31/it-welcome-to-derry-surprise-halloween-episode-now-streaming-on-hbo",
  "topic": "culture",
  "section": "Culture",
  "published": "2026-10-31T18:18:10.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Deadline",
    "slug": "deadline",
    "url": "https://deadline.com/2026/10/it-welcome-to-derry-halloween-hbo-max-1237210647/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": null,
  "summary": "HBO Max has released a surprise episode of It: Welcome to Derry for Halloween. The 30-minute special, titled “A Story of Derry,” explores the origins of IT in Derry and is set hundreds of years before the introduction of Pennywise and the show's main events, according to Variety. Deadline reports that the streamer shared a brief clip of the never-before-seen episode on its Instagram page.\n\nTVLine notes that this release marks the show's second annual spooky-season surprise, following a Halloween episode release last year. The series is set in the same universe as Andy Muschietti’s It movies. While Season 1 takes place 27 years before the first film, a second season was renewed in August to adapt the 1935-set Derry Interlude chapter from Stephen King’s novel. This upcoming season will center on the Bradley Gang, a group of bank robbers who encounter horror in Derry during the Great Depression.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 5,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "TheWrap",
        "title": "‘It: Welcome to Derry’ Drops Surprise Episode on HBO Max",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/31/it-welcome-to-derry-drops-surprise-episode-on-hbo-max",
        "published": "2026-10-31T07:00:00.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "The A.V. Club",
        "title": "It: Welcome To Derry dropped a surprise episode on HBO Max for Halloween",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/31/it-welcome-to-derry-dropped-a-surprise-episode-on-hbo-max-for",
        "published": "2026-10-31T13:20:11.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "TVLine",
        "title": "HBO Max Drops Surprise IT: Welcome To Derry Episode For Halloween",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/31/hbo-max-drops-surprise-it-welcome-to-derry-episode-for-halloween",
        "published": "2026-10-31T13:40:12.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Variety",
        "title": "‘It: Welcome to Derry’ Surprise Halloween Episode Drops on HBO Max",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/31/it-welcome-to-derry-surprise-halloween-episode-drops-on-hbo-max",
        "published": "2026-10-31T16:50:11.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}