ABOUT THIS EPISODE
Step on up for the battle of the Pennywise entities.
For Part 1 of our Pennywise franchise special, we take a look at the original IT book, the 1990 miniseries starring Tim Curry, the documentary of the miniseries and the 2017 and 2019 film adaptations starring Bill Skarsgard.
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It (also known as Stephen King's IT) is a 1990 ABC two-part psychological horror drama miniseries directed by Tommy Lee Wallace and adapted by Lawrence D. Cohen from Stephen King's 1986 novel of the same name.
The story revolves around a predatory monster that can transform itself into its prey's worst fears to devour them, allowing it to exploit the phobias of its victims. It mostly takes the humanoid form of Pennywise, an evil clown.
Cast members included Tim Curry (Pennywise), Richard Thomas, Annette O'Toole, John Ritter, Harry Anderson, Jonathan Brandis, Tim Reid, Dennis Christopher, and others. Produced by Green/Epstein Productions, It was filmed over a period of three months in Vancouver, British Columbia, in mid-1990 with a budget of $12 million, double the usual television budget.
While divided critical perspectives towards It have continued in later years, the miniseries has become most known for Curry's version of Pennywise, considered by several publications to be one of the scariest clown characters in film and television.
It has also spawned an Indiegogo-funded documentary film about the miniseries' production, titled Pennywise: The Story of It (2020); and an alternate history sequel short named Georgie, also by the producers of the documentary.
It (titled onscreen as It Chapter One) is a 2017 American supernatural horror film directed by Andy Muschietti and written by Chase Palmer, Cary Fukunaga, and Gary Dauberman. Starring Jaeden Lieberher and Bill Skarsgård, the film was produced by New Line Cinema, KatzSmith Productions, Lin Pictures, and Vertigo Entertainment.
A critical and commercial success, the film set box office records and grossed over $704 million worldwide, becoming the third-highest-grossing R-rated film at the time of its release, and grossed over $719 million through subsequent re-releases. Unadjusted for inflation, it became the highest-grossing horror film of all time.
The film received generally positive reviews, with critics praising the performances, direction, cinematography and musical score, and was called one of the best Stephen King adaptations.
The second film, It Chapter Two, was released in 2019, covering the remainder of the book. A prequel television series, It: Welcome to Derry, premiered on HBO in 2025, with Skarsgård returning as Pennywise.
Chapters
00:00 Introduction
00:48 Overview
01:10 IT Book by Stephen King
04:03 IT Miniseries (1990)
09:00 Pennywise The Story of IT Documentary and Georgie Short Film
10:30 IT Chapter One (2017) VS. IT Chapter Two (2019)
20:30 Giveaway Prize Pack! How to Enter
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