It: Welcome to Derry fans need to binge this brilliant Stephen King crossover show next

Audiences have been treated to a horrific feast in It: Welcome to Derry, which explores Pennywise’s backstory. But now that the first season is coming to a close, there’s another brilliant Stephen King crossover show that fans need to binge next.

Director Andy Muschietti only touched on Pennywise’s origin briefly in It: Chapter Two, but the series has expanded that mythology in a much larger way. So far the HBO show has revealed how It adopted Bob Gray and Pennywise as its main personality in 1908, and has established how the creature was behind numerous horrific incidents (like the Black Spot fire) that have happened in the town over the years.

Fans of King’s work have also been able to see It: Welcome to Derry as a prequel to The Shining thanks to a younger version of Dick Hallorann (Chris Chalk) taking center stage as a key part of military’s hunt for Pennywise. It’s an interesting crossover that also fleshes out his character and explores details that are only hinted at in both The Shining and Doctor Sleep.

If the show is renewed for a second season, Muschietti will roll the clocks back further to 1935 to explore things further. But while we wait for more Pennywise-induced fear, there’s another Stephen King horror TV crossover that fans need to binge-watch immediately.

It: Welcome to Derry fans need to watch Castle Rock

Hulu/Warner Bros

Horror fans need to watch Castle Rock, which is a criminally underrated Stephen King crossover TV series that ran for two seasons from 2018 to 2019, and has an 88% score on Rotten Tomatoes.

Similar to Welcome to Derry, it focuses on the small town of Castle Rock, which serves as a collision point for numerous characters and storylines created by King.

The first season starts when attorney Henry Deaver is brought back to his home town of Castle Rock when a strange young man (played by Bill Skarsgard!) is found in an abandoned cell of Shawshank Prison.

While Skarsgard isn’t playing a version of Pennywise, he’s still works as a villainous presence that messes with the townspeople in a variety of ways.

It also includes characters like Jackie Torrance (Jane Levy), the niece of infamous King monster Jack Torrance, and Alan Pangborn from books like The Dark Half, Needful Things, and Gerald’s Game. Then, Season 2 weaves Misery’s Annie Wilkes (Lizzie Caplan) into an adaptation of Salem’s Lot.

Basically, Castle Rock is a smorgasbord of storylines, Easter eggs, and references to King’s wider universe that will be an absolute treat for fans after It: Welcome to Derry. If you’re in the UK, you can watch Castle Rock on Sky Go, or purchase the series on Prime Video or Apple TV+. Meanwhile Castle Rock is available to stream on Hulu in the US.

While you’re waiting for It: Welcome to Derry Season 2, check out which scene scared Stephen King the most, discover the one lesson the co-creator learned from the iconic writer, and read about why a flashback in the seventh episode had fans complaining.