🔗 Share this article You Should Watch This Iconic Stephen King Film Before It: Welcome to Derry's Upcoming Installment The series Welcome to Derry is packed with connections to Stephen King's extensive collection of tales. Apart from the obvious ties to the original story, the show showcases a direct link to The Shining via the appearance of the youthful Dick Hallorann. Currently, as the story unfolds, Welcome to Derry is weaving in another beloved King story which merits another look. The Powerful Tale of The Shawshank Redemption Although The Shawshank Redemption may not be classified as a horror film, particularly compared to a lot of the author's additional writing, it is a haunting story of a wrongfully convicted individual condemned to spend the rest of his life in a notorious penitentiary. It is this specific institution that becomes important in this context, since Shawshank State Prison holds significant lore throughout King's stories — a tradition which persists in Welcome to Derry. Some of the tales which mention the prison include Dolores Claiborne, Needful Things, Apt Pupil, 11/22/63, and It. Via these narratives, we discover about the terrible life at the state penitentiary plus some of those imprisoned there, including the boyfriend of a of Pennywise's initial targets, who was found guilty for robbery with a weapon. Thus far, though, the most we've learned about the prison has been via the perspective of the protagonist from Shawshank Redemption, played by Tim Robbins in that 1994 movie. The character Andy ends up in Shawshank after his wrongful conviction, then experiences beaten and abused by other prisoners, and exploited by those in officials in power due to his expertise in finance. He requires nearly three decades to tunnel an escape route of the prison, before making his way "through a river of shit" to take back his freedom. Shawshank's Appearance in Welcome to Derry In relation to It: Welcome to Derry, viewers first learned about the prison's inclusion via an early trailer for the series, where a correctional transport appeared bearing the title painted on the side. In episode 2, we learn which character is probably headed to Shawshank. Although we know he was not commit the child deaths in the first episode, Hank Grogan (played by Stephen Rider), dad to Ronnie (Amanda Christine), gets taken into custody for the crimes. A teaser for episode 3, "the upcoming installment," reveals a guard informing a jailed Hank, "Are you aware what they do to child murderers in Shawshank?" The Consequences for the Character and Ronnie Given that the real killer in the town is an ancient power from another world hunting and killing children, Hank's chances of proving his innocence appear slim. Even should he ends up to Shawshank and the audience do not see him inside, knowing what is known regarding Shawshank makes it clear that his time there would be far from enjoyable. More importantly, though, this situation would endanger his daughter. He acts as her guardian. Horrible things are occurring in the town that nobody, young or old, understands and Ronnie just has her new group circle of pals to rely on. She's going to need her dad in the coming episodes, but if Shawshank plays a role, she could be without help. One thing seems clear: Hank lacks 28 years to dig his way out. Welcome to Derry the first two episodes are streaming now on HBO Max. Additional installments air weekly on Sundays.