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The series Welcome to Derry is filled with connections to Stephen King's wide-ranging library of stories. Beyond the obvious links to the original story, the series also features a direct link to The Shining via the cameo of the youthful future chef of the Overlook Hotel. Now, as the narrative progresses, Welcome to Derry is weaving in another classic King story that deserves another look.

The Haunting Story of The Shawshank Redemption

While The Shawshank Redemption may not be considered a horror film, particularly compared to a lot of King's other work, it is a haunting story of a wrongfully convicted man sentenced to live his remaining years in a infamous prison. It is that very institution that becomes central in this context, since the Shawshank facility possesses considerable history throughout King's stories — a tradition which persists within It: Welcome to Derry.

Among the stories that reference Shawshank are Dolores Claiborne, Needful Things, Apt Pupil, 11/22/63, and It. Via these stories, we discover regarding the terrible conditions at Shawshank State Prison plus some of those imprisoned within, including the boyfriend of one of Pennywise's early victims, who was found guilty of armed robbery.

So far, though, the majority we've learned concerning Shawshank was through the eyes of the protagonist from The Shawshank Redemption, played by the actor Tim Robbins in the 1994 film. The character Andy ends up in Shawshank after being wrongly convicted, then finds himself assaulted and raped by other prisoners, while taken advantage of by those in authority figures due to his financial knowledge. He requires nearly three decades to tunnel his way out from Shawshank, prior to crawling "through a river of shit" to take back his liberty.

Shawshank's Appearance in It: Welcome to Derry

Regarding It: Welcome to Derry, viewers first learned of Shawshank's inclusion from an early trailer for the series, where a correctional transport appeared with the name displayed on its side. In episode 2, it is revealed who is probably headed to the prison.

Though we know he did not commit the child deaths in the first episode, the character Hank Grogan (Stephen Rider), dad to Ronnie (Amanda Christine), gets taken into custody for the crimes. A teaser for the next episode, "Now You See It," reveals an officer informing a jailed Hank, "Do you know what happens to kiddie killers at that prison?"

The Implications for the Character and His Daughter

Considering that the actual killer in the town is a primordial entity from another world preying on and killing children, Hank's prospects of proving his innocence appear slim. And even if he does go to Shawshank and the audience do not see him inside, knowing what we do regarding Shawshank indicates that his time there would be far from pleasant.

Crucially, however, this development would endanger Ronnie. He acts as her guardian. Horrible things are happening around Derry that nobody, child or adult, understands and she just has her recently formed of friends to depend on. She's going to need her dad in the coming episodes, however should the prison system has any say, she may be without help.

A single fact is apparent: Hank doesn’t have three decades to tunnel to freedom.

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It: Welcome to Derry the first two episodes are currently available on HBO Max. New episodes are released each week on Sundays.