HBOWhile not common knowledge, a handful of Stephen King novels exist within a shared universe. King aficionados already know this well, but novices tuning in to It prequel Welcome to Derry might be surprised to learn that it features a character from The Shining. Dick Hallorann, the clairvoyant head chef of the Overlook Hotel, appears in Welcome to Derry as a much younger man (played by Chris Chalk). There’s precedent for this, as he also plays a small role in It, appearing throughout the novel in brief flashbacks. Welcome to Derry is built on fleshing out those flashbacks, turning what was essentially a walking, talking racial trope into one of the year’s most exciting sci-fi characters.King’s work was ahead of its time in a lot of ways, particularly in his inclusion of Black characters. That said, he’s also semi-responsible for the popularization of the Magical Negro, a Black character who only uses their supernatural gifts to aid a white protagonist on their journey. Dick Hallorann plays a major role in The Shining, but he exists to serve. He has little internal world of his own, and the same goes for the Black characters in The Green Mile and The Shawshank Redemption. Fortunately, Welcome to Derry goes out of its way to avoid the same trap.Hallorann plays a much bigger role than he ever did in The Shining. | HBOIn an interview with Variety, Chalk broke down the differences between his take on Hallorann and the doomed Shining character played by Scatman Crothers. “Everything I do is going to have some dignity,” Chalk said. Though Hallorann was “literally a Magical Negro” in King’s original text, he gains his own unique motivations in Welcome to Derry.The series significantly expands Hallorann’s role. He’s appeared in every episode so far, using his telepathic abilities to assist the Army troops stationed just outside of town. They’re searching for a weapon that will turn the tide of the Cold War, unaware that their hunt will eventually bring them face-to-face with Pennywise. In Derry’s third episode, Hallorann finds himself in Pennywise’s crosshairs. He manages to project his consciousness into the entity’s lair, where he might have been annihilated if an unlikely ally hadn’t rescued him.“The trouble with a Magical Negro is that they’re the only motherf****n’ Black person in the movie,” Chalk told Variety. Welcome to Derry doesn’t have that problem, as the cast is filled with Black actors taking on substantial, nuanced roles. Not only does Hallorann’s new ally, Army Major Leroy Hanlon (Jovan Adepo), have his own unique story, but Hanlon’s wife (Taylour Paige) and son (Blake Cameron) are also instrumental to the narrative. Elsewhere, another Black family plays their own role in the mystery unfolding in Derry.Hallorann may still be a magical Black man, but he’s not the only Black character in Welcome to Derry. | HBO“To already have this huge selection of Black humans in the narrative, not just as props, but as essential to the narrative, I know we’re going to avoid these tropes, because the trope doesn’t exist if everybody there serves a purpose,” Chalk said. “I do happen to be a magical Black man, but in a world full of Black people, it doesn’t come off as gross.”It also makes Welcome to Derry one of the most ingenious projects built on an existing property. It’s taken the sparse threads of a major novel and spun them into a robust narrative that feels true to life. A victim of a misguided trope could become one of the best genre characters of the year... if Derry can keep up its momentum.Welcome to Derry streams Sundays on HBO Max.