We’ve been watching, and this is absolutely not just a sci-fi nostalgia trip. It’s heavier. More sinister. It leans way harder into horror than Stranger Things ever did.
It’s set in 1962 and follows the twisted early events that open the door to the version of Derry, Maine, we all know… the one haunted by Pennywise the Dancing Clown. And yes — Bill Skarsgård is back, fully locked in, bringing the same chilling energy that made the movies so memorable.
Collider points out that the show goes further into horror than Stranger Things does, and they’re right.
But what we don’t love is when headlines try to frame it as though the two are the same thing. Just because a story has kids in danger doesn’t automatically make it Stranger Things. If anything, you can argue the influence goes the other direction — It existed long before Hawkins, Indiana, bikes, walkie-talkies, and The Upside Down. The Duffer Brothers have openly borrowed (lovingly) from 1980s pop culture, which itself was shaped by King. So the lineage is clear.
It sometimes feels like we can’t just enjoy entertainment anymore without everything being compared, ranked, and stacked in lists.
Why can’t a show be allowed to stand on its own without being “the next” anything?
So here’s where we land:
We appreciate Stranger Things.
We appreciate Welcome to Derry.
They are both completely different experiences — and that’s the point.
We’ll enjoy Welcome to Derry now.
And when Stranger Things arrives in a few weeks, we’ll enjoy that too.
But let’s be honest — the reason a lot of us are here is Bill Skarsgård’s Pennywise. He was phenomenal in the films, and he’s already proving he’s going to bring something equally unsettling, memorable, and terrifying to this series.
Just let good storytelling be good storytelling.
No comparisons needed.
