HBO Max has shadow-dropped a surprise 30-minute episode of It: Welcome to Derry for Halloween. IGN reports that the special, titled “A Story of Derry”, is streaming now and takes place hundreds of years before the events of Season 1. Nobody announced it beforehand, and it’s roughly half the length of a standard episode of the show, which usually runs an hour.
HBO Max flagged the release in a post on X calling it a surprise Halloween treat. Deadline gives the logline as “Hundreds of years before Pennywise, three youngsters venture into the Western Wood”, where they meet a terrifying ancient spirit.
The special isn’t entirely new ground. SlashFilm reports that it expands the flashback origin story from Episode 4, so some footage will look familiar, although certain details have changed. An opening text card frames it as a fuller, less sanitised telling of a legend viewers have already heard, with the Kollu preying on a people generations ago. Tazbah Chavez (Reservation Dogs) directed, and Cherie Dimaline and Jasmyne Flournoy wrote it.
If you can’t see it on the home screen, don’t assume it’s missing. SlashFilm notes that some users struggled to find it, and that it should sit under the “Related” tab on the main Welcome to Derry page.
Rumours of a bonus episode had circulated in the weeks before, but IGN says many fans dismissed them, partly because the Stranger Things finale theories had just fizzled out. (If you’re still sorting out that show’s schedule, we’ve covered the Stranger Things 5 release dates and times in the UAE.) The Welcome to Derry drop landed regardless, which makes it the first new episode since the Season 1 finale in December 2025. Screen Rant reports that the show has since climbed back to sixth place on HBO Max’s US streaming chart.
For the main story, Season 2 is renewed and moves to 1935 and the Bradley Gang massacre, as TheWrap and others report. No premiere date has been announced. IGN expects it to arrive in late 2027 at the earliest, and says a third season was previously said to be set in 1908.
Do I need to watch Season 1 first?
No. The special tells a self-contained story set centuries before the main show. Watching Episode 4 beforehand will help, because the special expands that episode’s flashback.
Is “A Story of Derry” available in the UAE?
HBO Max’s announcement only names HBO Max. In the UAE, It: Welcome to Derry has streamed on OSN+ through its HBO deal, so check there, but we haven’t seen OSN+ confirm the special yet.
When does Season 2 of It: Welcome to Derry come out?
HBO hasn’t announced a date. The season is set in 1935 and centres on the Bradley Gang massacre.
