TVLINE | The finale connects to the “It” movies in two ways: We find that Marge eventually becomes Richie Tozier’s mother, and we see Beverly Marsh at the end in that final coda. Talk to me about drawing those connections and why you wanted to merge the show and the film worlds.
BARBARA | For us, [the films and show] are the same thing, so it was always very natural. But back in March or April, we were [shooting] some tiny pickups in Toronto, just tiny little things. And Andy — who never, ever gives his brain a break about a story — tells me, “We need to gel the movies to the series beyond the [Marge/Richie] bloodlines.” Andy had just been talking to our lovely cameraman Angelo, and Angelo, in passing, tells Andy, “I just worked with Joan Gregson, and she’s doing great.” Joan Gregson had played Mrs. Kersh back when we shot “It Chapter Two” in 2018, so that definitely inspired Andy to basically set the ground for this last scene. We called Joan, and she was just delighted and delightful, and we called Sophia [Lillis], who’s our buddy — and, thank God, manages to keep her very youthful looks. [Laughs] And she got on a plane from New York and came to join us on that scene. We were incredibly lucky — lucky’s not even the word, but blessed — because Joan left us two months later. And it’s such a good memory. She had a great time, we had a great time, it was lovely.
ANDY | [The epilogue] was a very last-minute idea when I realized there was something missing to this whole story, which was a visual connection with the characters that we know and love from “It.” I have to say, my idea of an epilogue included a couple more things. There was Marge as an older woman with a f***ed-up eye, saying goodbye to Finn Wolfhard [who played Richie in “It”] as he got on a school bus. And then later on, there was Mike Hanlon at the grave of Leroy, and doing a weird time [jump]. But none of that happened. I decided to go for one single epilogue, because I knew the ending was getting very bulky. We went for [Beverly], and in “It Chapter Two,” it’s mentioned that her mom [died by] suicide, and I thought it was fascinating to link those two characters [Beverly and Mrs. Kersh] earlier in their life. In “Chapter Two,” we see Jessica Chastain going to her dad’s home, and he’s dead, but this old lady lives there.
BARBARA | Also, Mrs. Kersh is the only character we see in four facets of her life.
ANDY | I thought it would be very original to imply that these two met before in their lives. They just don’t remember. Beverly doesn’t remember, because she was in shock when that happened. It’s a scene that’s connecting the series to the film in a very simple way. But the other thing you mentioned, which is Marge being Richie’s mom — that’s the first idea that I had.
TVLINE | Like, first idea for this show, period?
ANDY| Yes, this was before even pitching it to Stephen King. I told him, “Look, I want to do this hidden story that connects the interludes, which goes backwards.” And the one character I knew there should be was this little girl who wears Coke bottle glasses, and it’s Richie’s mom.
BARBARA | And she’s funny.
ANDY | She’s funny, she has the DNA of Richie Tozier, but not so much that you can see it immediately. And we wouldn’t reveal this until the very end, though people seem to already have read between the lines, and they’re already speculating. Many people know.
TVLINE | It’s hard to keep anything a secret on the Internet, right?
BARBARA | And it’s good! What an honor to have people think about it instead of scrolling while they’re watching. People are actually tying the strings, and it’s an honor.
ANDY | I also did a little sketch of Marge, like, three or four years ago, and she had an eyepatch already. So I knew she would end up being some sort of pirate leading the charge. Of course, after the development [of the show], she isn’t necessarily the leadership, because she goes back and forth [between friend groups].
