IT: Welcome to Derry is set in 1960s America and features black characters who are fighting their own battles for equality and justice, even as Derry is gripped by evil. In a roundtable interview (via Hindustan Times), co-showrunner Brad Caleb Kane talks about the choice for the time-setting:
What scares an American? What scares someone in 1962 versus what might be scary to someone in ’89 or the present day in the films? And so, it’s the Cold War.
Kane said the show does not undermine the racial struggle that existed during the ’60s, not erring on the side of caution during our day and age of the “woke” agenda. He continued to argue:
You just show it how it is and how it was. And this is unfortunately how it was in 1962 in America…. And if painting a certain kind of reality is considered a woke agenda, that’s unfortunate.
1960s America was plagued by civil unrest, and racial segregation was still the law in many U.S. states.
How Do the Showrunners Touch Upon Segregation in 1960s America?
A still from IT: Welcome to Derry | Credit: HBO Max
Brad Caleb Kane did not hold back when it came to the reasons why 1962 was the right choice to tell allegorical and supernatural stories in IT: Welcome to Derry:
In America in 1962, you were coming out of segregation and the Jim Crow era, and these were real laws of the land and the reality for millions and millions of Americans. And, you know, when we come into our story, we are a year or two removed from tremendous civil unrest in the country.
Kane calls Derry a “microcosm of America,” deliberately pushing racial struggle from the background of the narrative, adding that “to not touch on that when that’s the reality of the time would be wrong, especially in a story that deals with your worst fears coming true.” Here are key details of the show.
CategoryDetailsTitleIt: Welcome to DerryTypeSupernatural horror television seriesBased onIt (1986 novel) by Stephen KingUniversePrequel to It (2017) and It: Chapter Two (2019) filmsCreated byAndy Muschietti, Barbara Muschietti, Jason FuchsShowrunnersJason Fuchs, Brad Caleb KaneDirectorsAndy Muschietti (multiple episodes, including pilot)Production CompaniesHBO, Warner Bros. Television, Double Dream, Vertigo EntertainmentPremiere DateOctober 26, 2025Network / PlatformHBO and HBO MaxScheduleWeekly episodes every SundayFinale DateDecember 14, 2025Number of Episodes8 episodesSettingDerry, Maine (1962)PremiseA couple and their son move to Derry, Maine, just as a young boy disappears. As they settle in, the town’s dark secrets and the rise of Pennywise begin to unfold.Main CastTaylour Paige (Charlotte Hanlon), Jovan Adepo (Leroy Hanlon), Blake Cameron James (Will Hanlon), Chris Chalk (Dick Hallorann), James Remar (General Shaw), Stephen Rider (Hank), Madeleine Stowe, Rudy Mancuso (Captain Pauly Russo), Clara Stack (Lilly), Amanda Christine (Ronnie Grogan), Mikkal Karim-Fidler (Teddy), Bill Skarsgård (Pennywise)ThemesOrigins of Pennywise, 1960s racial and social politics, child disappearances, fear, trauma, and small-town corruptionEpisode 1 Title“The Pilot” — Directed by Andy Muschietti, written by Jason FuchsTimelineSet ~27 years before It (2017)Ties to the cycle of Pennywise’s return every 27 yearsNotable Continuity LinksFeatures Dick Hallorann (from The Shining), bridging multiple Stephen King universes
During the Jim Crow era (1896 – 1964), laws in Southern states enforced racial segregation in schools, public facilities, and transportation under “separate but equal.”
On this day in 1963, the Chicago Public Schools Boycott also known as Freedom Day saw over 200,000 students stay home to protest segregation, overcrowding, and racist school policies.The boycott exposed the North’s own Jim Crow system and became one of the largest civil rights… pic.twitter.com/VJsQOGMLgB— Black Americans (@BLKAmericans_) October 22, 2025
Elaborating on the show’s approach to the narrative, co-showrunner Jason Fuches stated:
Our approach was story and character first. I never saw this as an inherently political show, even though it obviously touches on political themes and the political realities of 1962.
IT: Welcome to Derry isn’t the first visual media representation of the racial political unrest and tension that occurred during the 1960s, as many other directors have used horror as a way of portraying this terrible time in history.
From Night of the Living Dead to Sinners: Horror Representations of 1960s Racism
We explore the cinematic and television impact that the Jim Crow era of America had on black citizens during the Great Migration, which saw millions of Americans move North to escape the racial violence and segregation of the Jim Crow South.
Night of the Living Dead (1968)
George Romero’s classic zombie flick Night of the Living Dead accidentally became a masterpiece of Civil Rights-era racial critique. Romero cast the film’s lead, Black actor Duane Jones, as hero Ben without intending political undertones or commentary.
The closing images of the movie bear a striking resemblance to the lynching of black people by white militia. This gave audiences a message that racism was scarier than monsters.
The Twilight Zone: I Am the Night – Color Me Black (1964)
The Twilight Zone excelled at social commentary, with this episode being a perfect allegory for racism as a town plunges into eternal darkness following the execution of a man many believed innocent. The blackness spreads to areas of hatred and injustice, serving as a metaphor for racial hate.
The Intruder (1962)
Roger Corman’s bold drama stars William Shatner as Adam Cramer, a racist demagogue sent by a white supremacist organization to a Southern town. Shatner’s character must insurrect the court-ordered law that schools be integrated, representing the peak of the Jim Crow mindset.
Adam Cramar infamously delivers a monologue in a court scene, expressing his hate towards repressed communities with hate-filled speech aimed to stir up violence and anger among white supremacists.
Lovecraft Country (2020, HBO)
This series follows Atticus Freeman, his friend Letitia “Leti” Lewis, and his Uncle George as they embark on a road trip across 1950s Jim Crow America searching for Atticus’s missing father. There are two types of terror depicted:
Lovecraftian horror with monsters and cosmic forces
Grounded racial horror in a segregated America
The supernatural elements of the show combine the indifference of cosmic beings to racism and the characters’ attempts to evade racist police.
Sinners (2025)
Breakout horror hit of the year, Sinners, weaves racist America into its vampire-driven narrative. Ryan Coogler set the film in Jim Crow Mississippi, using white vampires as a symbol of feeding on black people, culture, and labor.
I will defend Sinners, til no end. To say it’s ‘boring’ or just ‘a vampire movie’ is blatant ignorance. It highlighted racism, oppression & the importance of music in cultures secluded from feeling any freedom. It is a work of art & should be remembered as such. pic.twitter.com/fHbInD465m— cinemaofscreams 🔪 (@CinemaOfScreams) October 21, 2025
The Jim Crow economy in itself is horrific, depicting unjust pay to plantation workers and telling the story of an unjust arrest of a black musician, forced to play for white folk. A memorable quote by the character Slim goes as follows:
White folks, they love the blues fine. They just don’t like the people who make it.
Multiple film and television shows throughout history have pointed out systemic oppression against people of color, and the sad truth is that racial violence is present today in all parts of the world.
What do you think of the showrunners’ reason to integrate 1960s racism? Let us know in the comments.
IT: Welcome to Derry will premiere on HBO Max on October 26, 2025.
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