Best TV Shows Like It: Welcome to Derry – Welcome to Derry didn’t just expand Stephen King’s universe — it pulled viewers back into that familiar, uncomfortable feeling where a town itself feels wrong. Quiet streets. Smiling faces. Something rotten underneath.
Now that the eight-episode HBO series has wrapped up, the obvious question is: what do you watch next?
If you’re craving slow-burn horror, cursed towns, and stories where fear builds instead of screaming at you every five minutes, this list is for you. Let’s count them down, from solid picks to absolute must-watches.
10. Teacup (2024)
Release Date: October 10 – October 31, 2024
Director: Ian McCulloch
Cast: Yvonne Strahovski, Scott Speedman
IMDb / Rotten Tomatoes: 6.3 / 77%
Where to Watch: Peacock
Streaming exclusively on Peacock in the U.S.
Aliens. Fear. A line you’re not supposed to cross.
Why it works:
Teacup starts small — a family, their neighbors, a strange rule enforced by a masked stranger. Cross the blue line, and you die. Simple. Terrifying.
Like Welcome to Derry, the real horror isn’t just the threat. It’s how people react when fear takes control. Some panic. Some deny it. Some make things worse. It’s not perfect, but the tension is real, and the idea sticks with you.
9. The Stand (2020)
Release Date: December 17, 2020 – February 11, 2021
Director: Josh Boone, Benjamin Cavell
Cast: James Marsden, Alexander Skarsgård, Whoopi Goldberg, Odessa Young
IMDb / Rotten Tomatoes: 5.7 / 57%
Where to Watch: Paramount+
Available to stream with a Paramount+ subscription
Stephen King is at his most ambitious.
Why it works:
This one swaps small-town horror for global collapse, but the DNA is the same. Evil doesn’t just show up — it spreads. Slowly. Patiently.
Randall Flagg is classic King darkness: charming, terrifying, and very human. If you liked the mythic side of Welcome to Derry, where evil feels ancient and inevitable, The Stand scratches that itch.
8. The Outsider (2020)
Release Date: January 12 – March 8, 2020
Director: Richard Price
Cast: Ben Mendelsohn, Cynthia Erivo, Bill Camp, Jason Bateman
IMDb / Rotten Tomatoes: 7.6 / 91%
Where to Watch: Max (formerly HBO Max)
All episodes are streaming on Max
What if the monster looks exactly like someone you trust?
Why it works:
Based on King’s novel, The Outsider is grounded, grim, and deeply unsettling. A crime that makes no sense leads to something far worse than a murderer.
The connection to Welcome to Derry is obvious: a shape-shifting evil that feeds on pain and fear. No jump-scare nonsense. Just dread that slowly tightens. This is adult horror, played straight.
7. Stranger Things (2016– )
Release Date: July 15, 2016 – Present
Director: Matt and Ross Duffer
Cast: Winona Ryder, David Harbour, Millie Bobby Brown, Finn Wolfhard
IMDb / Rotten Tomatoes: 8.6 / 90%
Where to Watch: Netflix
Netflix exclusive
Kids vs. evil never gets old.
Why it works:
Hawkins isn’t Derry, but it feels close enough. A normal town. A dark other side. Kids who see the truth while adults struggle to catch up.
If you enjoyed watching young characters face things they shouldn’t even understand, Stranger Things delivers that same mix of nostalgia, fear, and emotional stakes — just with a little more neon.
6. The Midnight Club (2022)
Release Date: October 7, 2022
Director: Mike Flanagan, Leah Fong
Cast: Iman Benson, Igby Rigney, Ruth Codd, Annarah Cymone
IMDb / Rotten Tomatoes: 7.5 / 63%
Where to Watch: Netflix
Streaming exclusively on Netflix
Stories within stories.
Why it works:
Terminally ill teens telling horror stories sounds simple, but Mike Flanagan turns it into something heavier and more emotional.
Like Welcome to Derry, the show blends fear with grief, hope, and the idea that death is always closer than we want to admit. It’s eerie, sad, and quietly powerful. Not for everyone — but if it clicks, it really clicks.
5. Haven (2010–2015)
Release Date: July 9, 2010 – December 17, 2015
Director: Sam Ernst, Jim Dunn
Cast: Emily Rose, Lucas Bryant, Eric Balfour
IMDb / Rotten Tomatoes: 7.5 / 63%
Where to Watch: Amazon Prime Video, Freevee
Free with ads on Freevee or included with Prime in select regions
When a town itself is cursed.
Why it works:
Haven leans more into mystery than pure horror, but the setup is familiar: a small town plagued by something it can’t escape.
Each episode peels back another layer of “The Troubles,” much like how Welcome to Derry slowly reveals its long, ugly history. It’s lighter in tone, but the world-building keeps you hooked.
4. From (2022– )
Release Date: February 20 – April 10, 2022
Director: John Griffin
Cast: Harold Perrineau, Catalina Sandino Moreno, Eion Bailey
IMDb / Rotten Tomatoes: 7.8 / 96%
Where to Watch: MGM+ (formerly Epix)
Streaming exclusively on MGM+
You can enter. You can’t leave.
Why it works:
Few shows capture the feeling of being trapped as well as From. By day, the town feels almost normal. By night, it becomes a nightmare.
The similarities to Welcome to Derry are strong: unanswered questions, an evil that predates the characters, and a mystery that unfolds piece by piece. Every episode leaves you wanting answers — and dreading them.
3. Castle Rock (2018–2019)
Release Date: July 25, 2018 – December 11, 2019
Director: Sam Shaw, Dustin Thomason
Cast: André Holland, Bill Skarsgård, Melanie Lynskey, Lizzy Caplan
IMDb / Rotten Tomatoes: 7.5 / 88%
Where to Watch: Hulu
All seasons are available on Hulu
Stephen King’s multiverse, done right.
Why it works:
This is King fan service without feeling lazy. Castle Rock pulls characters, themes, and locations from across King’s work and turns them into something new.
Like Derry, the town feels cursed across generations. Bad things don’t just happen — they repeat. Bill Skarsgård’s presence alone makes this feel spiritually connected to It. Dark, strange, and deeply unsettling.
2. Midnight Mass (2021)
Release Date: September 24, 2021
Director: Mike Flanagan
Cast: Kate Siegel, Zach Gilford, Hamish Linklater
IMDb / Rotten Tomatoes: 7.7 / 87%
Where to Watch: Netflix
Netflix original series
Faith, miracles, and something deeply wrong.
Why it works:
Another quiet town. Another outsider arrival. Another secret that changes everything.
Midnight Mass doesn’t rush. It lets conversations breathe. It makes you question what’s holy and what’s horrifying. Much like Welcome to Derry, the real monster hides behind belief, denial, and blind hope. This one stays with you long after it ends.
1. The Haunting of Hill House (2018)
Release Date: October 12, 2018
Director: Mike Flanagan
Cast: Michiel Huisman, Carla Gugino, Henry Thomas, Elizabeth Reaser, Oliver Jackson-Cohen, Kate Siegel
IMDb / Rotten Tomatoes: 8.5 / 93%
Where to Watch: Netflix
Streaming exclusively on Netflix
The gold standard.
Why it works:
If Welcome to Derry is about how evil scars a town, Hill House is about how it scars a family.
This series understands that the best horror isn’t the ghost in the corner — it’s the trauma people carry for years. The storytelling is tight, emotional, and devastating in the best way.
If you loved the character-driven horror of Welcome to Derry, this is the closest match in terms of depth, quality, and impact.
Final Thoughts
What It: Welcome to Derry proved is simple: horror works best when it takes its time. When it lets fear grow quietly. When the town, the people, and the past all feel connected.
Every show on this list taps into that idea in its own way. Some lean into mystery. Some into emotion. Some into pure dread. Until the next Stephen King adaptation arrives, these are more than enough to keep the lights on a little longer than usual.
And yeah — maybe don’t watch them alone at night.