new ‘IT: Welcome to Derry’ Series Has ASL Stream

HBO Max is soldiering on with augmenting much of its content with American Sign Language (ASL) by giving its latest series, IT: Welcome to Derry, the ASL treatment for Deaf and hard-of-hearing viewers. Notably, the show—a prequel exploring the origins to Stephen King’s frightful Pennywise the Clown character—is the first-ever HBO Max series to showcase not one but four ASL interpreters handling the translation duties.

IT: Welcome to Derry is HBO Max’s third-biggest premiere, with 5.7 million viewers.

“When it became clear that multiple Deaf talents were needed to represent the show’s diverse perspectives, HBO Max and Warner Bros. fully supported that vision,” Leila Hanaumi, the show’s sign language director, said in a statement provided to me. “The result is an ASL experience that raises the bar for storytelling and accessibility, which I’m so proud to be part of.”

Justin Jackerson, another interpreter, wrote in a post on Instagram ahead of the show’s premiere that he was “so proud” to be a Deaf artist who helped bring IT: Welcome to Derry to life so inclusively. “Who says horror doesn’t deserve access?” Jackerson said.

“It has been a wonderful experience bringing access to Welcome to Derry through my native language and acting,” Jackerson said in a statement sent to me. “Having a Deaf director at the helm was key to achieving an authentic ASL translation that reflects Deaf linguistic and cultural nuances, a result only possible with Deaf leadership.”

News of IT: Welcome to Derry in ASL comes after I reported in mid-September HBO Max was providing a dedicated ASL stream for this summer’s blockbuster in Superman.