HBO and Warner Bros. Television have announced that It: Welcome to Derry has been renewed for a second season. Brad Caleb Kane, who served as co-showrunner alongside Jason Fuchs for the first season, will step into the sole showrunner role for the upcoming installment.
Season 2 will shift its temporal focus significantly, moving from the Cold War setting of Season 1 to a period nearly 30 years prior. The new season is slated to take place in 1935, amidst the Great Depression, and will center on the "bloody massacre of the Bradley Gang." This group of bank robbers reportedly stopped in Derry to acquire ammunition, only to encounter "unimaginable horror."
In Stephen King's original novel, the Bradley Gang were depicted as Midwestern outlaws, drawing comparisons to figures like John Dillinger and Bonnie and Clyde. The gang comprised eight members, including leaders Al and George Bradley, George's wife Kitty Donahue, Joe and Cal Conklin, Arthur Malloy, and the couple Patrick Caudy and Marie Hauser.
The Bradley Gang was referenced in the first season of It: Welcome to Derry. The series' second episode featured the exhumation of the gang's vehicle, with some of the members' remains still inside, as part of an operation known as Operation Precept. Furthermore, the gang's violent confrontation in Derry was visualized in the show's animated opening credits and also appeared in a mural within the 2017 film adaptation of It.
Executive producers Andy and Barbara Muschietti expressed their enthusiasm for continuing to expand the universe created by Stephen King, highlighting the invaluable support from HBO and Warner Bros. Television. Sarah Aubrey, Head of HBO Max Original Programming, stated that the network is eager to return to Derry and further develop the "horrifically iconic adaptation," promising that the second season, under Brad Caleb Kane's guidance, will "deepen the terror, the mystery, and the unforgettable Pennywise lore."
Among the executive producers for Season 2 are Brad Caleb Kane, Roy Lee, Dan Lin, Jamie Travis, and Dhana Gilbert.