10 Shows to Watch If You Loved ‘IT: Welcome to Derry’
10. The Terror
The Terror is essentially a historical horror anthology. Its first season follows a 19th-century naval expedition hunted by an ancient creature amid the Arctic ice. Like the 1962 setting of the Derry prequel, the series uses its historical backdrop to intensify the characters’ isolation and helplessness. Driven by atmospheric dread, The Terror explores how human nature fractures when people are stalked by a relentless, fearsome entity.
9. From
From is often called the horror version of Lost. It’s a gritty, terror-soaked experience that feels straight out of a Stephen King novel, even though King himself isn’t involved. The series centers on a nightmarish Middle American town that traps anyone who enters, forcing residents to survive nightly attacks from terrifying, smiling humanoids. At its core is an eclectic group of ordinary people battling a mysterious, malevolent force deeply embedded in the town’s very geography.
8. Channel Zero
In Channel Zero, the worst internet "creepypastas" come to life throughout the season. The first season, Candle Cove, is particularly similar to IT, as it follows a man who returns to his hometown to investigate a strange 1980s puppet show that coincided with a series of child murders. It shares Derry’s themes of childhood urban legends becoming terrifyingly real and uses visceral, dreamlike imagery to create a unique sense of discomfort that rivals Pennywise’s hallucinations.
7. Yellowjackets
The psychological horror in this show is same as the one faced by the members of the Loser's Club. A group of teenagers survives a plane crash and is forced to confront a mysterious, potentially supernatural "force" in the woods. The dual-timeline narrative explores how their horrors remain buried just beneath the surface, much like the survivors of Pennywise’s attacks struggling to remember and face their past in Derry.
6. The Outsider
This one is yet another HBO series based off a Stephen King novel. What starts as a murder investigation ends up transforming into a shape-shifting supernatural threat. The characters have to confront the existence of a "boogeyman" who is responsible for the atrocities in their town. It shares the same high-production value and gritty, adult tone as Welcome to Derry, focusing on the disbelief and eventual horror experienced by the town's authoritative figures.
5. Dark
The complex timelines of this German sci-fi thriller are guaranteed to take you on a wild ride. Dark follows four families in the town of Winden after a child’s disappearance sparks a sprawling mystery that stretches across several generations. Generational trauma and a history packed with secrets form the show’s emotional core. The addition of time travel and fate adds a chilling twist, pushing viewers to question everything they think they understand. It creates an unsettling sense that the entire town is afflicted by something deeply wrong.
4. Midnight Mass
A Mike Flanagan masterpiece, Midnight Mass is set in a secluded island community where the arrival of a mysterious priest brings supposed “miracles” that quickly spiral into a nightmare. The show embraces the “small town under siege” trope while adding layers of religious dread and slow-burn suspense. It explores how a tight-knit populace can be corrupted by an ancient evil, just one of the many reasons the series left audiences deeply unsettled.
3. The Haunting of Hill House
Directed by Mike Flanagan, the series follows a family haunted by a malevolent house across multiple decades. In a cyclical narrative, The Haunting of Hill House explores how childhood trauma and supernatural encounters continue to shape and terrorize its characters into adulthood. Its emphasis on psychological horror, paired with masterfully hidden “background ghosts,” creates a level of atmospheric tension and character-driven storytelling that fans of Derry’s darkest moments will appreciate.
2. Stranger Things
Stranger Things is heavily influenced by IT, mirroring the classic “kids on bikes” dynamic and the coming-of-age themes that anchor the Derry prequel. Both shows center on small towns plagued by mysterious entities—the Upside Down and Pennywise—and follow groups of young outsiders uncovering secrets their parents overlook. With its final season arriving in 2025, Stranger Things remains a perfect companion for viewers drawn to nostalgia-fueled horror and high-stakes supernatural mystery.
1. Castle Rock
As the definitive Stephen King anthology series, Castle Rock is the closest spiritual relative to Welcome to Derry. Set in the titular fictional Maine town, the show weaves together characters and themes from across King’s bibliography, featuring locations like Shawshank State Prison and figures such as Annie Wilkes. It captures the same “evil town” energy, where local legends and supernatural forces feel baked into the very soil, creating a constant, inescapable sense of dread.
