To me, the best time of year is any time when horror movies are crushing at the box office, and the horizon is dotted with upcoming horror TV shows, and this week is especially great due to all the genre love showcased in this year’s Emmy nominations. (Huzzah for Widow’s Bay!) Stephen King’s influence was certainly part of the festivities, with IT: Welcome to Derry earning two nominations. So now that the HBO series is officially an Emmy nominee, what’s up with Season 2?
Despite impressive viewership numbers across HBO and HBO Max, and overall positivity and acclaim from fans and critics, IT: Welcome to Derry still doesn’t have an official Season 2 order in place, which feels like a crime so monstrous only Pennywise himself could be responsible. But as the channel’s head honcho put it when speaking with Variety about the whopping 122 Emmy nominations across linear and streaming, the ball(oon) is in the court of co-creators and producers Andy and Barbara Muschietti. In his words:
They’re working on a take for Season 2, and they’re coming up with a take and scripts. I am very inclined to [renew it], obviously — the show did very well. They want to be happy with the direction that they’ve come up with. They’re still working on it. They’ll show it to us, but I’m feeling very good about what I’ve heard so far.
Thankfully, this explanation does seem to be in line with updates he’s shared previously, in that he makes it sound more like a “when it happens” situation, and not an “if it happens” one. Unless Bloys is just better act acting than anyone showcased on the network, he has me convinced that the desire and eagerness to see more from Bill Skarsgård’s Pennywise are fully present.
It’s just that the brains behind the scenes have their own creative benchmarks to surpass before feeling ready to bring the full Season 2 playbook out. Which technically could come parceled with a Season 3 pitch, since the Muschiettis have expressed taking this particular upcoming Stephen King adaptation back into the past for Pennywise’s cyclical appearances in Derry in 1935 and 1908.
Hopefully everyone involved with the writing process is feeling like their in a creative sweet spot for the rest of time, because I kinda need this show to be back in my life ASAP. I guess the closest I’ll get for now is seeing how it fares when the Emmys air in September.
IT: Welcome To Derry’s 2026 Emmy Award Nominations
- Outstanding Title Design
- Outstanding Special Visual Effects In A Season Or A Movie
While we obviously won’t be seeing Season 2 pop up on the 2026 TV schedule, IT: Welcome to Derry Season 1 can be streamed in full via HBO Max subscription while waiting for more updates.