Don’t Watch It: Welcome to Derry First — Watch The Shining So Dick Hallorann Actually Means Something

If you’re planning to watch It: Welcome to Derry on HBO/HBO Max, consider starting with Stephen King’s The Shining first. The prequel series expands a character who appears in both King’s novels and previous film adaptations, and seeing his earlier story adds context to the new show.

1. Why watch The Shining before Welcome to Derry
2. Dick Hallorann and casting details
3. How The Shining connects to It and the new series
4. Where to watch and additional notes

Why watch The Shining before Welcome to Derry

First, The Shining introduces the character Dick Hallorann and the concept of the Shining, a telepathic ability that is important to several King stories. Therefore, watching The Shining gives you a clearer sense of what Hallorann can do. Also, because It: Welcome to Derry makes Hallorann a central figure, the film adds emotional weight to his scenes in the new series.

Dick Hallorann and casting details

In the original Stanley Kubrick film of The Shining, Scatman Crothers played Dick Hallorann. The character appears in Stephen King’s novels beyond The Shining: he has a small role in the book It and a larger part in Doctor Sleep, King’s official sequel to The Shining. In Mike Flanagan’s film adaptation of Doctor Sleep, Hallorann is portrayed by Carl Lumbly.

For It: Welcome to Derry, Chris Chalk (known for Gotham) plays a younger Dick Hallorann. This version is presented as a young army cook who is still learning about his abilities and is involved in efforts to track the entity known as It.

How The Shining connects to It and the new series

More broadly, Stephen King reused Hallorann across multiple books. It was published in 1986, after The Shining novel (1977) and after Kubrick’s 1980 film adaptation, which means King had already established Hallorann’s later life when he wrote It. As a result, Hallorann’s presence in Welcome to Derry is consistent with King’s wider universe.

Additionally, the new series includes nods to other parts of King’s universe, so watching The Shining first helps you spot and understand those references. Because Hallorann is older in The Shining, seeing his origin and earlier struggles in Welcome to Derry makes his later fear and reactions more meaningful.

Where to watch and additional notes

You can stream The Shining on HBO Max. Alternatively, the novels are available if you prefer to read King’s books before watching the series.

Finally, the producers and critics have noted different adaptations of The Shining over the years. If you plan to watch adaptations, the series suggests avoiding the Stephen King-produced miniseries, which has received negative assessments; for context, see this article.