Some shows take a while to get going, but horror shows like It: Welcome to Derry proved they would be masterpieces right from their opening moments. In the era of streaming services, it is tougher than ever to get viewers to give new shows a chance. A series must be immediately engaging if the audience is going to stick around.
To retain viewers as far as a show’s second season, or even its second episode, a series needs to be instantly arresting. This is a tall order, and one that undeniably favors more dramatic, action-packed shows. Some almost perfect Prime Video shows were effectively forgotten despite their critical acclaim since they lacked this all-important punchy opening.
Similarly, a lot of truly great Netflix horror shows failed to gain mainstream recognition, and in some cases failed to even get a second season renewal, thanks to their limited audiences. The first ten minutes of a TV show have never been more important than they are in the era of streaming services, which is why these five shows succeeded.
5
Twin Peaks
While Twin Peaks is a classic horror show that can still outclass every modern entry into the genre, viewers could not possibly have known this within the first five minutes of creators David Lynch and Mark Frost’s ABC murder mystery. Twin Peaks needed an instantly memorable opening to become the cult classic that it is now, and the show undoubtedly delivered.
Twin Peaks begins with the discovery of the beautiful high school prom queen Laura Palmer’s dead body, but not before many of the titular town’s quirky residents have been briefly introduced. Within minutes, viewers get a feel for the peaceful eponymous burg, only for tragedy to disrupt any sense of comfort settling over the scene.
Inevitably, viewers are instantly hooked as they realize the seemingly idyllic small town isn’t as sweet as it seems. As Twin Peaks continues, the show gradually unravels the twisted mystery behind Laura’s untimely death, but it is the pilot episode’s startling opening that will stick with viewers for long after the story of the series has ended.
4
The Outsider
2020’s The Outsider is a faithful adaptation of author Stephen King’s 2018 novel of the same name, the first of the Holly Gibney series. These mystery books blend straightforward crime drama with horror elements, and it takes a while before viewers know whether this HBO limited series is a supernatural horror show or a more conventional, albeit very dark, courtroom drama.
Either way, The Outsider gets viewers hooked from the outset with its ingenious opening scene. Later referenced in It: Welcome to Derry, The Outsider’s story opens with the discovery of a young boy’s horribly mutilated corpse. All the evidence points toward the boy’s Little League coach, Terry Maitland, who can be seen snatching the child on security camera footage.
The only problem is that Terry says he didn’t do it, and further video evidence proves he was in another place, at another time, meaning he can’t be the boy’s killer. This impossible setup leaves viewers with no idea what the truth is, turning The Outsider from a grim crime drama into something darker, stranger, and more intriguing.
The eventual answer inevitably involves a little supernatural trickery, which might come as a disappointment to fans who were expecting a more conventional crime thriller. However, for anyone who knows that King is famously a master of horror, this twist is a perfect payoff to the killer opening scene of episode one.
3
Stranger Things
Now that Stranger Things season 5, volume 1 has arrived, it is all too easy to forget the show’s humble beginnings. However, long before viewers learned about Vecna, the experiments in Hawkins Lab, and the town’s twisted history, the vanishing of Will Byers was an affecting mystery that set up the show’s stellar first season.
The opening scene of episode one is a masterclass in building tension, as the young boy’s bicycle ride home is interrupted by what appears to be some kind of monster. When he finally gets back to his rundown home, Will is seemingly safe, only for the flickering of the shed lights to reveal a supernatural threat lurking behind him.
The next five seasons provided viewers with adventure, coming-of-age drama, comedy, romance, and thrills in equal measure. However, in its gripping opening minutes, Stranger Things firmly established itself as a horror series through and through, and Vecna’s season 5 plan proves the show never fully abandoned this element of its appeal.
Playing out like a blend of Stephen King and Steven Spielberg, the opening scene of episode one feels like an Amblin movie directed by John Carpenter. Wistful and nostalgic but still terrifying and propulsive, this sequence sets the bar high for the rest of Netflix’s hit series.
2
The Haunting of Hill House
If the opening of Stranger Things was an appropriately creepy mixture of coming-of-age ‘80s drama and horror, the start of Mike Flanagan’s iconic Netflix miniseries The Haunting of Hill House is a stab right in the jugular. The show will find time for a complex family drama later in its sprawling story, but, in episode one’s opening scene, it’s all about terror.
The Haunting of Hill House begins with Steven Crane narrating the opening lines of Shirley Jackson’s novel of the same name, which, conveniently, exists in this show’s universe as his haunted house memoir. Thus, The Haunting of Hill House’s first scene immediately, subtly establishes just how much the show will stray from its source material.
Only time will tell whether Flanagan’s Carrie series sticks closer to its inspiration, but The Haunting of Hill House’s creative alterations prove to be no bad thing straight away. As a young Nell tells her parents that she can’t sleep due to seeing a ghost, they dismiss her fears and put her back to bed in what seems like a sweet domestic scene.
Then viewers get their first glimpse of the specter looming over little Nell, and the scene becomes truly blood-chilling. The rest of The Haunting of Hill House finds time for poignancy and immersive, moving family drama, but this scene is undeniably straight-up terrifying, and a perfect calling card for the best horror show Netflix has made so far.
1
It: Welcome to Derry
HBO’s long-awaited It prequel, It: Welcome to Derry, had some big shoes to fill, and it seemed like the much-delayed miniseries could struggle to live up to the hype when the show began in October 2025. Fortunately, It: Welcome to Derry’s introduction of Pennywise immediately assuaged these fears before the opening credits even rolled.
Starting with a young runaway leaving Derry’s movie theater and hitching a ride out of the snowy town, the It: Welcome to Derry pilot’s opening scene soon grows dark and trippy as the inhabitants of the car begin acting strangely. From a teenage girl eating raw liver to a hysterically laughing mother giving birth, something was clearly seriously wrong.
Eventually, it becomes clear that the car and all its inhabitants are possessed by Pennywise, who, in a virtuoso move, remains unseen in his most recognizable form until It: Welcome to Derry episode 5, “29 Neibolt Street.” The scene ends badly for its young hero, but his fate is almost a relief after It: Welcome to Derry’s panic-inducing opening scene.
- Release Date
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October 26, 2025
- Network
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HBO
- Directors
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Andy Muschietti
