The Welcome to Derry cast brings Stephen King’s fictional Maine town back to the screen, led by Jovan Adepo, Taylour Paige, Chris Chalk, and James Remar. Bill Skarsgård returns as Pennywise the Dancing Clown, connecting the HBO series to the 2017 and 2019 “It” films. Below is a complete breakdown of the adult cast, the young cast, and the characters they play.
“It: Welcome to Derry” premiered on HBO and HBO Max on October 26, 2025, and wrapped its eight-episode first season on December 14, 2025. The show earned an 81% score on Rotten Tomatoes and has since been renewed for a second season. This guide covers the full Welcome to Derry cast, character details, and how the actors connect to Stephen King’s larger IT mythology.
Who Stars in Welcome to Derry?
The Welcome to Derry cast is led by four adult actors: Jovan Adepo, Taylour Paige, Chris Chalk, and James Remar, alongside a group of young actors playing Derry’s terrorized kids. Andy Muschietti, Barbara Muschietti, and Jason Fuchs created the HBO series, which streams on HBO Max, Disney+, and Hulu.
The show is set in Derry, Maine, decades before the events depicted in Andy Muschietti’s two “It” feature films. Season 1 unfolds in 1962, during the height of Cold War paranoia, and follows a military family whose arrival in town coincides with a wave of disappearances.
Unlike the films, which centered on the Losers’ Club as kids and adults, “Welcome to Derry” splits its focus between a new set of children and the adults trying to protect them. That structure gives the show room to explore Derry’s history rather than replay a single group’s story.
Jovan Adepo as Major Leroy Hanlon
Jovan Adepo plays Major Leroy Hanlon, an Air Force officer who relocates his family to Derry and becomes one of the first adults to sense something is deeply wrong with the town. Adepo is known for Fences, Watchmen, and The Leftovers, roles that established him as an actor comfortable balancing quiet restraint with emotional intensity.
Leroy’s storyline anchors the season. As a newcomer stationed at Derry’s Air Force base, he has no inherited fear of the town’s history, which puts him on a collision course with locals who have spent years avoiding the subject entirely.
Taylour Paige as Charlotte Hanlon
Taylour Paige portrays Charlotte Hanlon, Leroy’s wife and a schoolteacher who gets pulled into Derry’s unraveling mystery through her own students. Paige previously appeared in Zola and Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, and she brings a similar emotional directness to Charlotte.
Charlotte’s arc is less about the supernatural threat directly and more about watching the effects ripple through the children in her classroom. That angle gives the show a grounded, human entry point into events that otherwise skew toward cosmic horror.
Chris Chalk as Dick Hallorann
Chris Chalk plays Dick Hallorann, a name Stephen King fans will recognize immediately from “The Shining.” This is the same character, and he’s also referenced in the original IT novel, making him one of the clearest connective threads between King’s separate book universes.
In “Welcome to Derry,” Hallorann is stationed at the Air Force base and carries the psychic ability King fans know as “the shine.” Chalk is known for When They See Us, Gotham, and Perry Mason, and his casting signals how deliberately the show ties itself into King’s broader body of work rather than staying confined to the IT storyline alone.
James Remar as General Shaw
James Remar takes on the role of General Shaw, a longtime Derry resident who leads a classified military operation out of the town’s Air Force base. Remar is best known for Dexter and The Warriors, and he brings an authoritative, hardened presence to a character shaped by Cold War-era secrecy.
Shaw represents Derry’s institutional side: the military and civic leadership that has learned, in various ways, to look away from what happens in the town. His scenes carry a different tone than the family-centered material around Leroy and Charlotte.
Stephen Rider as Hank
Stephen Rider plays Hank, an operative connected to the same classified project overseen by General Shaw. Rider has previous credits in Luke Cage and Daredevil, series that similarly required him to play characters operating in morally murky territory.
Hank’s role ties directly into the military-conspiracy thread running alongside the supernatural horror plot, giving the show a second genre layer beyond straight horror.
The Young Cast of Welcome to Derry
The child actors in “Welcome to Derry” play a new group of Derry kids who become entangled with the entity long before the Losers’ Club exists. The main young cast includes Clara Stack as Lilly Bainbridge, Blake Cameron James as Will Hanlon, and Arian S. Cartaya as Rich, alongside Matilda Lawler as Marge and Amanda Christine as Ronnie Grogan.
This young ensemble carries much of the season’s emotional weight, echoing the structure of the 2017 “It” film without simply repeating its characters or storylines.
Clara Stack as Lilly Bainbridge
Clara Stack plays Lilly Bainbridge, a central figure among the kids who becomes involved in investigating a local boy’s disappearance. Stack’s previous roles include Madam Secretary, Bull, Hawkeye, and The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, giving her more screen credits than most of her young co-stars heading into the series.
The Grogan Siblings and Other Young Characters
Amanda Christine plays Ronnie Grogan, while other young cast members round out the group of kids caught in Derry’s escalating disappearances. The season opens with the disappearance of Matty, a 12-year-old boy fleeing a difficult home life, setting the mystery in motion from episode one.
Miles Ekhardt also appears among the younger cast; he made his professional acting debut playing Davis’s younger brother Noah in the film adaptation of Turtles All the Way Down.
Bill Skarsgård’s Role as Pennywise
Bill Skarsgård reprises his role as Pennywise the Dancing Clown, the character he originated in the 2017 and 2019 “It” films. His involvement is the clearest link between the HBO prequel and Andy Muschietti’s earlier movies, confirming that the same interpretation of the entity carries across projects.
Skarsgård’s Pennywise was the only confirmed casting detail released before the show’s other roles were announced, underscoring how central the character remains to the franchise’s marketing and identity.
How Welcome to Derry Connects to the It Films
“Welcome to Derry” functions as a prequel to “It” (2017) and “It: Chapter Two” (2019), both directed by Andy Muschietti. The series is based on King’s IT novel and expands the world Muschietti established in the feature films, using material from the book that the movies didn’t have time to cover.
Much of that material comes from what King calls “interludes” — historical chapters in the novel narrated through Mike Hanlon’s research into Derry’s past. The Muschiettis said they wanted to tell the stories behind those interludes, which is why the show jumps to a different era than the films.
This is a genuinely different approach from most prequels, which tend to fill in backstory for characters audiences already know. Instead, “Welcome to Derry” introduces an almost entirely new cast and uses Derry itself, rather than any single character, as the connective thread.
Andy Muschietti has said the plan is for three seasons, each tied to a different catastrophic event described in King’s novel: the 1962 burning of the Black Spot covered in Season 1, the 1935 massacre of the Bradley Gang planned for Season 2, and the 1908 Easter egg hunt explosion as a potential future season.
Welcome to Derry Season 2: What’s Confirmed So Far
HBO renewed “Welcome to Derry” for Season 2, and the story will move to 1935, focusing on the Bradley Gang massacre during the Great Depression. Brad Caleb Kane, who co-showran Season 1 with Jason Fuchs, will serve as sole showrunner for the new season.
HBO announced the renewal nearly a year after Season 1 premiered, and it came more than eight months after the December 14, 2025 finale. The Hollywood Reporter attributed the gap to the work required to rebuild the show around a new time period, though Variety reported that a writers’ room had already opened before the official announcement.
Season 2 will center on the “bloody massacre of the Bradley Gang,” a group of bank robbers who stop in Derry to buy ammunition and encounter unimaginable horror instead. Andy and Barbara Muschietti continue producing alongside Kane, Roy Lee, Dan Lin, Jamie Travis, and Dhana Gilbert.
As of now, HBO has not announced a release date or cast for Season 2. Bill Skarsgård’s return has not been confirmed, since Pennywise’s exact role in the 1935 storyline hasn’t been detailed publicly. Given the shift to a new decade, it’s plausible the season leans more heavily on new characters, similar to how Season 1 introduced its own cast rather than reusing anyone from the films.
FAQ
Who plays the lead role in Welcome to Derry?
Jovan Adepo plays Major Leroy Hanlon, an Air Force officer whose arrival in Derry sets the season’s events in motion. He’s joined by Taylour Paige as his wife, Charlotte Hanlon, in one of the show’s two central storylines.
Is Bill Skarsgård in Welcome to Derry?
Yes. Bill Skarsgård reprises his role as Pennywise the Dancing Clown, the same character he played in “It” (2017) and “It: Chapter Two” (2019).
Is Welcome to Derry connected to The Shining?
Yes, indirectly. Chris Chalk plays Dick Hallorann, the same character from Stephen King’s “The Shining,” who is also referenced in the original IT novel. His inclusion links the two book universes on screen.
What time period does Welcome to Derry Season 1 take place in?
Season 1 is set in 1962, during the Cold War, and centers on a wave of disappearances in Derry, Maine tied to a classified military operation at the local Air Force base.
How many episodes does Welcome to Derry Season 1 have?
Season 1 has eight episodes, which aired weekly from the October 26, 2025 premiere through the December 14, 2025 season finale.
Has Welcome to Derry been renewed for Season 2?
Yes. HBO confirmed the renewal, with Season 2 set in 1935 during the Great Depression and centered on the massacre of the Bradley Gang. Brad Caleb Kane will serve as sole showrunner.
When does Welcome to Derry Season 2 come out?
HBO has not announced a release date for Season 2 as of the renewal announcement. No cast list has been released either.
Where can I watch Welcome to Derry?
The series streams on HBO Max, and Season 1 is also available on Disney+ and Hulu.
Who are the child actors in Welcome to Derry?
The main young cast includes Clara Stack as Lilly Bainbridge, Blake Cameron James as Will Hanlon, Arian S. Cartaya as Rich, Matilda Lawler as Marge, and Amanda Christine as Ronnie Grogan.
How does Welcome to Derry fit into the overall It timeline?
It’s a prequel to the 2017 and 2019 “It” films, set decades earlier. The show draws on the “interlude” chapters of King’s IT novel, with a planned three-season structure covering Derry’s catastrophic events in 1962, 1935, and potentially 1908.
