HBO’s IT: Welcome to Derry primarily focuses on a self-contained story within the world of Stephen King’s IT, building on the events of previous book and movie adaptations. However, it also connects to King’s larger fictional universe. A major connection is the character Dick Hallorann (from The Shining and Doctor Sleep), who plays a significant role in Derry. Authorities are using his unique abilities to investigate and potentially control the entity known as It.
In addition, the show IT: Welcome to Derry Season 1, Episode 3, includes a clear reference to The Shawshank Redemption. After Hank Grogan is falsely arrested for the murders at the Capitol Theater – crimes actually committed by It – the dishonest police chief, Clint Bowers (who appears to be the grandfather of IT‘s bully, Henry), decides what to do with him. He plans to send Hank to Shawshank State Prison, darkly warning him about what happens to people accused of harming children there.
How Much Time Will IT: Welcome To Derry Spend At Shawshank?
The trailer for IT: Welcome to Derry hinted at a connection to The Shawshank Redemption with a quick shot of a bus bearing the prison’s name. Now, Episode 3 reveals how this connection will play out, suggesting it’s more than just a brief nod to the film. We might actually see the character Hank at Shawshank prison, bringing back this famous setting from Stephen King’s world, which has previously appeared in Castle Rock and the movie The Shawshank Redemption.
Many still consider it the greatest Stephen King adaptation ever made, and it consistently ranks as the top movie on IMDb, holding that spot for years. Any project related to it is immediately noteworthy, and it will be very interesting to see what they do with it.
The timelines of these stories actually overlap. Welcome to Derry takes place in 1962, and Andy Dufresne (Tim Robbins) was in Shawshank from 1947 to 1966, with Red (Morgan Freeman) being released on parole a year after Andy escaped. This means Andy and Red would both be in prison when Hank arrives, but using new actors to play them might be too distracting for viewers.
Shawshank Penitentiary is a well-known and grim setting in Stephen King’s work. Although Pennywise’s power might not directly reach that far, Hank will likely face serious challenges, particularly given rumors that he brutally murdered children – even though he’s innocent. Hopefully, he’ll survive and be exonerated by the end of IT: Welcome to Derry Season 1, but King’s stories rarely have simple, happy endings.
New episodes of IT: Welcome to Derry release Sundays at 9pm ET on HBO and HBO Max.
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2025-11-10 06:10