🔗 Share this article You Should Watch This Classic Stephen King Movie Prior to the Series' Upcoming Installment HBO's Welcome to Derry is packed with connections to the author's vast universe of narratives. Apart from the clear links to the original story, the series also features an explicit link to The Shining through the appearance of the youthful Dick Hallorann. Now, as the narrative unfolds, Welcome to Derry is integrating one more beloved King story that deserves a revisit. The Haunting Tale of The Shawshank Redemption Although Shawshank Redemption isn't typically considered horror, particularly compared to much of King's other work, it is a haunting tale about an innocently imprisoned individual sentenced to live the rest of his life in a notorious prison. And it's this specific penitentiary that becomes important in this context, since the Shawshank facility holds considerable history throughout King's stories — a tradition which persists in It: Welcome to Derry. Some of the stories that reference Shawshank include Dolores Claiborne, Needful Things, Apt Pupil, 11/22/63, and It. Via these narratives, we discover regarding the awful conditions at Shawshank State Prison plus some of those imprisoned within, such as the boyfriend of one belonging to Pennywise's early targets, who was found guilty of armed robbery. Thus far, however, the most we've learned about the prison was through the eyes of Andy Dufresne from Shawshank Redemption, portrayed by Tim Robbins in the 1994 movie. The character Andy winds up at the prison following his wrongful conviction, and finds himself beaten and abused by fellow inmates, and exploited by the authority figures due to his expertise in finance. He requires nearly three decades to tunnel an escape route of the prison, before crawling "through a river of shit" to reclaim his liberty. The Prison's Role in Welcome to Derry Regarding It: Welcome to Derry, viewers initially discovered about the prison's inclusion via an early trailer for the show, in which a prison bus appeared bearing the title displayed on its side. During the second episode, it is revealed which character is likely headed to Shawshank. Although it is known he was not commit the child deaths initially, Hank Grogan (Stephen Rider), father of Ronnie (Amanda Christine), is arrested for those offenses. The preview for the next episode, "Now You See It," reveals a guard informing a jailed Hank, "Do you know what they do to kiddie killers in Shawshank?" The Implications for Hank and His Daughter Given that the actual murderer in Derry is an ancient power from another world preying on and killing children, Hank's chances of proving his innocence appear slim. And even if he does go in the prison and viewers do not see him there, understanding what is known regarding Shawshank makes it clear that his time there would not be pleasant. Crucially, though, this situation could threaten his daughter. Hank is her protector. Horrible things are occurring around Derry that nobody, child or adult, understands and she just has her new group of friends to depend on. She's going to need her father in the coming episodes, but if Shawshank has any say, she could be out of luck. A single fact seems clear: Hank lacks 28 years to dig his way out. Welcome to Derry the first two episodes are streaming now via the streaming service. New episodes are released each week on Sundays.