The Stephen King Miniseries That Haunted an Entire Generation

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Stephen King has said that the 1990 TV miniseries of his novel It really stuck with a whole generation of viewers.

I was reading an interesting piece recently where Stephen King talked about the surprising impact of the original ‘It’ miniseries. He said that when the movie version came out, nobody – not even him – realized how many people had been genuinely scared as kids by Tim Curry’s Pennywise on ABC. Apparently, a whole generation who were now old enough to see the R-rated movie had been traumatized by that $12 million TV version!

This miniseries, directed by Tommy Lee Wallace and written by Lawrence D. Cohen, tells the story of a group of friends called the Losers Club as they confront a terrifying monster that preys on their biggest fears.

The monster is best known as Pennywise, a terrifying clown. Stephen King praised Tim Curry’s portrayal, saying he gave children everywhere – not just in America – a reason to be afraid of red balloons and the phrase, “We all float down here.”

Shot over three months in Vancouver, Canada, this miniseries cost $12 million to make—twice the amount usually spent on a TV show at the time. Although some critics and the network were worried about airing it during the important November ratings period, it became ABC’s biggest hit of 1990, attracting almost 30 million viewers over its two-night run.

The first installment was seen in 17.5 million homes, and the second part attracted 19.2 million viewers. It was also the most-recorded show that month, with almost two million people using VCRs to tape it, as reported by A.C. Nielsen.

The miniseries received a variety of reviews from critics, but it was also highly praised and recognized with several nominations. These included two Emmys, an Eddie Award, a Youth in Film award, and a People’s Choice Award for Best Miniseries. Ultimately, it won two awards: an Emmy for Richard Bellis’s outstanding music composition and an Eddie Award for its editing.

King made sure he watched the miniseries before it was released, explaining to Fangoria that it was his book and he’d spent three years working on it.

The movie starred Tim Curry as the terrifying Pennywise, along with Richard Thomas, John Ritter, Harry Anderson, Jonathan Brandis, and Tim Reid. The story jumps between two timelines: when the characters were children facing Pennywise for the first time in 1960, and when they return as adults in 1990 to confront him again.

Tim Curry’s performance as Pennywise became incredibly famous and is now considered by many to be one of the most terrifying clown portrayals in film history. The original miniseries has had a lasting impact, inspiring both a 2020 documentary called Pennywise: The Story of It and a short film exploring an alternate take on the story, Georgie.

I was really surprised to learn this movie wasn’t just a hit here – it actually traveled overseas too! It played in France in ’93, called ‘Il est revenu,’ and then made its way to BBC One in the UK in ’94. Apparently, millions of people tuned in to watch it over there, which is amazing!

The 1990 miniseries is still considered a hugely important piece of television horror, famous for how it affected popular culture and for establishing Tim Curry as one of the scariest clowns ever to appear on screen.

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2025-10-30 14:45