Will there be IT: Welcome to Derry season 2? Renewal status and more explored

Whether or not there will be IT: Welcome to Derry season 2 is still up in the air. The Bill Skarsgård hit horror series finished off its first season on Sunday, December 14. And after the eight-episode first season, viewers now want to know if Pennywise will return to terrify viewers in the future. 

However, Warner Bros. Discovery has yet to officially confirm IT: Welcome to Derry season 2. At the time of writing, they have yet to confirm if the series has been renewed or cancelled. 

But there are plenty of signs and teasers that make it fair to guess that a second season will happen. Big ratings go a long way for a show when it's looking for a renewal and IT: Welcome to Derry doesn't appear to have a problem on that front. At the time of writing, the series has an 80% score from critics on Rotten Tomatoes and a 77% score from the general audience. 

Will IT: Welcome to Derry season 2 get a greenlight?

The future of the series remains up in the air. Whether or not there is a second season will be purely speculation at this point without any official confirmation from Warner Bros. Discovery. That said, ratings and viewership will always go a long way in the decision-making process. 

Variety reported on December 11 that the show's penultimate episode hit 5.8 million views in its first three days of release. It reportedly marks the series's best viewership yet. The viewing numbers for episode 7 also reportedly helped pull the show up to get an average of 10.7 million viewers per episode. 

Variety also quoted a WBD report saying that IT: Welcome to Derry is one of the three biggest series debuts for HBO Max. It reportedly comes just behind The Last of Us and House of the Dragon. 

However, the show's renewal is still not a sure thing despite its impressive viewership. And while there are indicators that it could get a second season, there are also reasons why the series could struggle getting a renewal, like its high production budget. 

Executive producer Barbara Muschietti said herself in an interview with TV Guide, published on December 14, that IT: Welcome to Derry is "not a cheap show." She added: 

"There's math to be made and hoops to jump through, that kind of thing."

But she also said that they "want to do it," referring to the series being extended to a second and third season. 

Series co-creators previously teased IT: Welcome to Derry season 2 and more

Warner Bros. Discovery has yet to greenlight IT: Welcome to Derry season 2. However, series co-creators Andy and Barbara Muschietti previously told Variety in October that their plan for the show goes well beyond the first season.

They plan to create at least three seasons for the series, which won't take place consecutively. Instead, they plan to run the story backward in chronological order. Andy Muschietti said: 

"Our big story arc involves three seasons, mainly based on the three critical cycles of Pennywise, which are 1962, 1935, and 1908."

This means that if IT: Welcome to Derry season 2 is going to happen, it would focus on 1935. It also means that season 1 cast members are not likely to return. 

Watch all eight episodes of IT: Welcome to Derry season 1 on HBO Max while waiting for news and updates on the season 2 renewal.