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The series It: Welcome to Derry contains numerous nods to Stephen King's extensive library of stories. Beyond the clear links to It, the series showcases a direct link to The Shining through the appearance of a young Dick Hallorann. Now, as the narrative unfolds, Welcome to Derry is weaving in one more classic tale from King that deserves a revisit.

The Powerful Story of The Shawshank Redemption

While The Shawshank Redemption may not be classified as horror, especially compared to much of the author's additional writing, it remains a gripping story of a innocently imprisoned man sentenced to spend his remaining years inside a notorious prison. And it's this specific penitentiary that becomes central in this context, since the Shawshank facility holds considerable history across King's stories — a pattern which persists within Welcome to Derry.

Some of the stories which mention Shawshank include Dolores Claiborne, Needful Things, Apt Pupil, 11/22/63, and It. Via these stories, we discover about the awful conditions at the state penitentiary plus several of those imprisoned there, such as the boyfriend of a belonging to Pennywise's early targets, who was convicted of armed robbery.

So far, though, the majority we have discovered concerning Shawshank has been through the perspective of the protagonist in The Shawshank Redemption, portrayed by Tim Robbins in that 1994 film. The character Andy winds up in Shawshank following his wrongful conviction, then finds himself assaulted and raped by other prisoners, while taken advantage of by the officials in power due to his financial knowledge. He requires nearly three decades to dig an escape route from Shawshank, before crawling "through sewage" to reclaim his freedom.

The Prison's Role in It: Welcome to Derry

Regarding It: Welcome to Derry, viewers initially discovered about the prison's involvement from an early trailer for the series, in which a correctional transport appeared with the name painted on the side. In episode 2, it is revealed which character is likely destined for the prison.

Though we know he was not commit the murders of children 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, "Now You See It," shows a guard informing Hank in his cell, "Do you know what they do to child murderers at that prison?"

The Consequences for the Character and His Daughter

Given that the actual murderer in Derry is an ancient power from another world preying on and murdering kids, Hank's chances of clearing his name do not look good. And even if he ends up in the prison and the audience don't follow him there, understanding what is known regarding Shawshank makes it clear that his time there would not be pleasant.

Crucially, however, this development would endanger his daughter. He acts as her guardian. Horrible things are happening in the town that nobody, young or old, understands and Ronnie only has her recently formed circle of pals to depend on. She will require her dad in the coming episodes, however should Shawshank plays a role, she could be without help.

A single fact seems clear: Hank doesn’t have 28 years to tunnel his way out.

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Welcome to Derry the first two episodes are streaming now via the streaming service. New episodes air weekly each Sunday.