appears

Viewers have been waiting patiently to catch a glimpse of the flame-haired villain

*Warning: Contains minor spoilers for Episode 5 of IT: Welcome to Derry*

The suspense is building in the Stephen King-inspired series IT: Welcome to Derry, as fans eagerly anticipate the grand reveal of the infamous horror villain, Pennywise.

The terrifying child-snatching clown, first introduced in King’s acclaimed 1986 novel, It, has been lurking in the shadows throughout the initial four episodes.

So far, viewers have witnessed unsettling events unfold across Derry, with local children tormented by horrifying visions and the military planning to excavate an ancient burial site in a bid to capture the creature, aided by the unique abilities of Dick Hallorann.

With the fifth episode dropping today (November 24) for UK viewers, fans are left wondering when they will finally see Pennywise on-screen. Fortunately, the wait won’t be much longer, reports the Daily Record.

The dramatic unveiling of the clown takes place in Episode 5, as Derry’s children and its secretive military venture into the town’s sewers. This will mark the first time audiences get a close-up view of the villain, apart from fleeting glimpses of it’s glowing eyes.

Bill Skarsgard returns to his role as the shapeshifting entity that assumes the form of an individual’s deepest fear. However, it seems to predominantly take on the guise of the frilly-collared clown, the reasons for which remain a mystery.

The series takes place 27 years before the events depicted in the original IT film, drawing inspiration from five interlude tales within King’s IT novel told through the eyes of character Mike Hanlon.

Love all things horror? Sign up for our free weekly film and TV newsletter Scream Society

The adaptation has been brought to the small screen by sibling pair Andy and Barbara Muschietti, who previously delivered the tale to cinemas with 2017’s IT Chapter One and 2019’s IT Chapter Two.

“One of the great things about the book is no one ever gets to know the truth about It-and that’s where our curiosity goes,” Andy Muschietti revealed during a conversation with Esquire regarding the series.

“The purpose [of the show] is shedding some light onto those mysteries.”

New episodes of Welcome to Derry are released every Monday on Sky an NOW TV

Gov. Gavin Newsom strode onstage in Houston on Saturday to a cheering crowd of Texas Democrats, saying Proposition 50’s victory in California on election day was a win for the nation and a firm repudiation of President Trump.

Newsom possessed the air of a politician running for president at the boisterous rally, a possibility the California governor says he is considering — and the location he chose was not happenstance.

Newsom accused Trump of pressuring Texas Gov. Greg Abbott to rejigger the state’s congressional districts with the goal of sending more Republicans to Congress, an action that triggered California’s Proposition 50. Newsom successfully pushed for a special election on the ballot measure to counter the efforts in Texas, which the governor said wasan attempt by Trump and the Republicans to “rig” the 2026 midterm election.

Cheers erupted from the friendly, union-hall crowd when Newsom belittled Trump as an “invasive species” and a “historically unpopular president.”

“On every issue, on the economy, on terrorists, on immigration, on healthcare, [he’s a] historically unpopular president, and he knows it, and he knows it,” Newsom said. “Why else did he make that call to your governor? Why else did he feel the need to rig the election before even one vote was cast? That’s just weakness, weakness masquerading as strength. That’s Donald Trump, and he had a very bad night on Tuesday.”

Newsom was the main political force behind Proposition 50, which California voters overwhelmingly approved in Tuesday’s special election. The statewide ballot measure was an attempt to counter Trump’s push to get Republican-led states, most notably Texas, to redraw their electoral maps to keep Democrats from gaining control of the U.S. House of Representatives in the 2026 midterms and upending his agenda. Newsom and California Democrats hope the change will net an additional five Democrats in California’s congressional delegation, canceling out any gains in Texas.

Newsom thanked Texas Democrats for putting up a fight against the redistricting effort in their state, saying it inspired an uprising.

“It’s dawning on people, all across the United States of America, what’s at stake,” Newsom told the crowd. “And you put a stake in the ground. People are showing up. I don’t believe in crowns, thrones. No kings.”

Newsom’s trip to Texas comes as the former San Francisco mayor has been openly flirting with a 2028 run for president. In a recent interview with “CBS News Sunday Morning,” Newsom was asked whether he would give “serious thought” after the 2026 midterms to a White House bid.

“Yeah, I’d be lying otherwise,” Newsom replied. “I’d just be lying. And I’m not — I can’t do that.”

In July, Newsom flew to South Carolina, a state that traditionally hosts the South’s first presidential primary. He said he wanted to help his party win back the U.S. House of Representatives in 2026. But South Carolina is a solidly conservative state and did not appear to have a single competitive race.

During that trip, South Carolina Rep. James Clyburn, the highest-ranking Black member of Congress and renowned Democratic kingmaker, told The Times that Newsom would be “a hell of a candidate.” Newsom received similar praise — and encouragement — when he was introduced at the “Take It Back” rally in Houston.

Newsom now heads to Belém, Brazil, where representatives from 200 nations are gathering to kick off the annual United Nations climate policy summit. For Newsom, it’s a golden opportunity to appear on a world stage and sell himself and California as the antidote to Trump and his attacks on climate change policy.

The Trump administration this year canceled funding for major clean energy projects such as California’s hydrogen hub and moved to revoke the state’s long-held authority to set stricter vehicle emissions standards than the federal government.