Be warned: this article reveals details from the first two episodes of IT: Welcome To Derry. If you haven’t seen them yet, we recommend watching on HBO Max before reading further – or be prepared for spoilers!
One thing that really bothers me about long-running movie or TV series is when characters don’t evolve. Studios and filmmakers often worry about changing a beloved hero or villain too much, even after many years, because they think audiences have a fixed idea of who that character is. But people change over time, and life experiences shape who they become. That’s why I’m excited about how the new series, IT: Welcome To Derry, is handling the character of Dick Hallorann, played by Chris Chalk – they seem willing to let him grow and change.
As a big Stephen King fan, I always think of Dick Hallorann as the chef from The Shining and Doctor Sleep, and how he really looked out for young Danny Torrance. But when I learned he was appearing in the IT: Welcome to Derry series, I was intrigued! See, The Shining takes place in the late 70s, while IT is firmly set in 1962. I recently spoke with showrunners Jason Fuchs and Brad Caleb Kane, and they explained they deliberately wanted to show a different side of Hallorann. They felt he fit naturally into the story because of his brief appearance in Stephen King’s original IT novel, but they also wanted to give the character room to develop and grow throughout the series.
The script includes a mention of Dick Hallorann being at the Black Spot, something we decided early on while writing the pilot. It was great to show Dick earlier in his story and see how he developed.
The second episode of ‘IT: Welcome to Derry’ is packed with references to Stephen King’s work, and the most clever one, in my opinion, is a hidden nod to ‘The Shining’ found in some bathroom graffiti.
In the second episode of IT: Welcome To Derry, we meet Hallorann and discover he’s involved in a secret operation at an Air Force base. He’s not just leading search teams in Derry, Maine; he’s using his psychic powers – known as ‘Shine’ – to guide them in their hunt for something extraordinary.
Fuchs explained that the character is the same one viewers already know, but this story shows how he became that person. The director continued by saying,
This version of the character is quite different from the one we see in ‘Doctor Sleep’ or ‘The Shining.’ A major focus of this season is exploring Dick Hallorann’s backstory – how he became the man he is in the larger Stephen King universe.
Brad Caleb Kane shared some insights into Dick Hallorann’s character in the upcoming Stephen King series. While previously played as a warm and caring person by actors like Scatman Crothers and Carl Lumbly, this version of Hallorann, set in 1962, will be quite different.
Before heading to Colorado and becoming the caretaker of a famously haunted hotel, Hallorann is portrayed as a self-centered person primarily focused on his own future. As Kane described it, he wasn’t thinking about others at this point.
Throughout the story of Danny Torrance and the Overlook Hotel, various characters offer their help. However, Dick Hallorann initially focuses solely on his own task and doesn’t concern himself with others. While his mission seems self-serving at first, the season reveals a transformation. He gradually learns to care for people, and we discover the experiences that shaped him into the Dick Hallorann we know. Ultimately, he undergoes a complete personal journey.
The third episode of IT: Welcome To Derry, called “Now You See It,” will air this Sunday, November 9th, at 10pm on HBO. It will also be available to stream on HBO Max at the same time. While Episode 2 was incredibly frightening, this new installment promises to deliver more scares and will be thoroughly covered and analyzed here on TopMob.
Read More
- Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess ‘Mazo Talisman: Yashichi Waves’ update launches in July
- Yakuza Maker’s Next PS5 Game Gets a Brief Behind-the-Scenes Video
- Steam RPG From 2023 Being Removed Next Month and PC Users Aren’t Happy: “Huge Potential Wasted”
- Deadlock The Doorman Guide: Big Tips & Tricks
- ‘LEGO Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight’ Reveals Its 7 Main Batsuits
- Gears of War: Reloaded is Now Available
- Alabaster Dawn Demo is Now Available on PC
- ‘My Name Is Jeff’: Channing Tatum Played Another Jeff In Roofman, And Is Considering Legally Changing His Name
- Preview: Teamwork Is the True Terror of Little Nightmares 3
- No Upgrade Path for the Belated PS5 Version of Yakuza 0 Director’s Cut
2025-11-05 23:08