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If you're enjoying It: Welcome to Derry, then you would agree that if there's any author who has had an immense influence on the genre of horror on television, it's probably Stephen King. The King of Horror has made his fair share of contributions to adaptations on screen based on his novels. The latest of which is It: Welcome to Derry, a prequel to the previous films as it explores the origins of the history of Pennywise. As of now, it has received widespread acclaim, and is all set to release two more seasons.
If you loved It: Welcome to Derry, and are craving more of King's presence on television, here are five more shows that are based on his novels, and why they are the perfect fit after It: Welcome to Derry.
Shows you should watch if you liked It: Welcome to Derry
The Outsider
Long before It: Welcome to Derry, HBO worked on The Outsider, a show based on King's novel of the same name. The show begins with a murder investigation of a young boy where strong evidence leads to the arrest of a baseball coach. However, things go wrong when evidence starts showing up in conflicting ways, confusing the audience of the coach's guilt as supernatural forces force them to question everything they believe. The show came out in 2020 and was adapted by Richard Price.
With a 91% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes. The Outsider definitely deserves to be on your watch list if you loved It: Welcome to Derry. The show stars Ben Mendelsohn, Bill Camp, Jeremy Bobb, Julianne Nicholson, Mare Winningham, Paddy Considine, Yul Vazquez, Jason Bateman, Marc Menchaca, Cynthia Erivo. Although it only lasted one season despite the stars expressing their interest for a second season, it's a worthwhile watch that requires less commitment. It has ten episodes.
Available to watch on: HBO Max.
Mr. Mercedes
Stephen King's Bill Hodges trilogy inspired Mr. Mercedes, a show that brought Mr. Mercedes, Finders Keepers and End of Watch to life. Premiering in 2017, it revolved around detective Bill Hodges who is obsessed over a case of a murderer who killed sixteen people as he drove a Mercedes through a job fair.
Enter Brady Hartsfield, a young psychopath who turns the narrative as he torments Hodges further. The chase deepens with emails, letters and more intensity as Hodhes becomes hellbent on finding him.
The show has three seasons, which came out in 2018 and 2019. Developed by David E. Kelley, it stars Brendan Gleeson and Harry Treadaway in the lead, joined by Kelly Lynch, Jharrel Jerome, Scott Lawrence, Robert Stanton, Breeda Wool, Justine Lupe, Mary Louise Parker, Holland Taylor, Jack Huston, Maximiliano Hernández, Tessa Ferrer, Rarmian Newton, Gabriel Ebert.
Available to watch on: Peacock
Stephen King's IT (1990)
Before It: Welcome to Derry enchanted the audience with it's haunted premise, there was Stephen King's IT in 1990, which adapted the Stephen King novel for the small screen. The show arrived on ABC in 1990 as a two part psychological horror drama that pushed television way past its comfort zone. Directed by Tommy Lee Wallace and written by Lawrence D. Cohen, the miniseries adapted King’s 1986 novel with a focus on fear as something alive, shifting, and hungry. At the core of the story is a shape shifting creature that uses its victims’ deepest terrors against them, most famously slipping into the skin of Pennywise, a clown with a grin sharp enough to slice through childhood innocence.
The narrative follows a group of misfit kids who call themselves The Lucky Seven, or more commonly, the Losers Club. They discover the creature during their childhood in 1960 and swear to destroy it. Decades later, in 1990, they come back to their hometown as adults when the monster reappears, determined to end what they started.
Awards and attention followed. The miniseries earned nominations at the Emmys, the Eddies, the Youth in Film Awards, and the People’s Choice Awards. It won two, including an Emmy for Richard Bellis’ score and an Eddie Award for its editing. If you're loving It: Welcome to Derry, then the 1990 show should definitely be on your watchlist for it's slightly scarier, slightly more terrifying premise in a show that was way ahead of it's times.
Available to watch on: Prime Video
The Institute
Written by Benjamin Cavell and directed by Jack Bender, The Institute adapts Stephen King’s novel of the same name, slipping into that unsettling King universe where childhood, power, and cruelty collide in the dark. Cavell and Bender double as executive producers, building a story that follows a teenager who wakes up in a facility where gifted kids are held, studied, and manipulated. The deeper he digs, the more horrifying the truth becomes.
The project had a long road. When King’s novel first dropped in 2019, David E. Kelley was initially linked to a limited series adaptation, with Bender already in place as director under Spyglass. Years later, in 2024, the show found its true home with MGM+ Studios, with Cavell stepping in to write and executive produce while Bender stayed attached. The plan was set for eight episodes, a structure that gives the story room to breathe without stretching its suspense thin.
If It: Welcome to Derry hooked you with its blend of childhood terror and creeping supernatural menace, The Institute is the perfect next descent. As of now, the show is all set for a second season, giving fans the perfect time to give it a quick run.
Available to watch on: Prime Video
Haven
Haven brings the kind of slow burn supernatural mystery that feels right at home next to Stephen King’s darker universes. Created by Jim Dunn and Sam Ernst and loosely inspired by King’s novel The Colorado Kid, the series builds its own strange mythology inside a sleepy coastal town in Maine where reality bends, storms brew without warning, and people carry abilities they never asked for. Filmed along Nova Scotia’s South Shore, the show has the misty, atmospheric look of a place cut off from the rest of the world, which only adds to its charm.
The story begins when FBI agent Audrey Parker, played by Emily Rose, arrives in Haven for what should have been a basic assignment. Instead, she walks straight into the resurgence of the Troubles, a recurring wave of supernatural conditions that have plagued the town more than once. Audrey’s willingness to consider the impossible makes her a natural fit at Haven, but it also draws her into something far more personal. Hidden somewhere in this town is the key to the mother she’s never met and the life she can’t quite remember.
Available to watch on: Prime Video
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It: Welcome to Derry is now streaming on HBO Max.
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