In 2025, a Stephen King adaptation became one of the biggest small-screen hits in the horror genre. The show, It: Welcome to Derry, earned positive reviews and even shattered HBO's streaming records after it premiered. While the horror show deserved its success, it could not beat a 10-part supernatural Syfy series that premiered before it in the same year.
Similar to It: Welcome to Derry, the show in question, Revival, also serves as an adaptation. Just like It: Welcome to Derry centers its story on the lore of Stephen King's It, Revival adapts Tim Seeley and Mike Norton's comic book series of the same name. Revival did not enjoy the same mainstream commercial success as It: Welcome to Derry.
However, the show did not fail to impress critics and still boasts an impressive Rotten Tomatoes score of 90%. After its season 1 success, It: Welcome to Derry is all set to return for at least two more seasons. While Revival is yet to be renewed after season 1, it is hard not to see how it also deserves the same treatment as It: Welcome to Derry and needs to be expanded with another installment.
Revival Deserves A Second Season On Syfy
A lot seems to favor Revival's season 2 renewal. While the show never garnered mainstream attention, its critical acclaim and abundance of source material give Syfy enough reasons to continue investing in it. The show seems to barely scratch the surface of all the stories told by the original comics and even sets up season 2 with its half-developed lore surrounding the "Revivers" and the growing military containment.
Since Revival was also never billed as a limited series, Syfy probably had plans to renew it before it premiered. However, with no official updates surrounding its release, Revival's future remains uncertain.
In season 1, the show makes incredible use of its cold, isolated Wisconsin setting, reminiscent of the eerie towns from shows like Fargo and Twin Peaks. Even with its portrayal of the "revived," the show never relies on conventional zombie tropes. Instead, it heavily relies on small-town paranoia and makes the undead seem eerily human.
There are some familiar elements in Revival's storytelling, but it keeps viewers well-invested with procedural developments and moments of shocking body horror. Its chills and thrills are further elevated by the memorable performances of its cast, which includes Melanie Scrofano, Romy Weltman, Andy McQueen, and David James Elliott, among others.
Unfortunately, despite its merits, Revival's return has not been confirmed yet. While its renewal is still a possibility, the odds of its return have gone down since almost a year has passed after its premiere.
IT: Welcome To Derry Was Still A Great Addition To The Iconic Horror Franchise
Compared to Revival, It: Welcome to Derry's season 1 was more of a crowd pleaser that riffed on everything horror fans love to see in a Stephen King story. The Stephen King adaptation's portrayal of the Losers Club and their dynamic felt relatively weak compared to the movies. However, the show thrived when it portrayed Dick Hallorann's lore and Pennywise's ruthless kills.
Even It: Welcome to Derry's final time travel twist is presented as an intriguing development in the overarching franchise, potentially setting up many future installments. However, the Stephen King TV show was not free from flaws. While many appreciated its visual aspects, viewers and critics could not help but point out that it did not have a lot of stories to tell.
Despite having a massive roster of characters, It: Welcome to Derry focused less on developing them and more on drawing one reference after another to myriad Stephen King stories. Owing to this, in terms of storytelling and plot progression, Revival felt like a superior supernatural show.
Still, It: Welcome to Derry also proved to be a great addition to the horror genre, and it is hard not to be hyped about how it will further expand the time travel story from season 1. Hopefully, Syfy's Revival, too, will get the chance to return and finish what it started.
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