Producer Jack Bender has been trying for years to make a TV series based on the Stephen King novel The Institute. The book was first published in 2019, and Bender has literally been working on an adaptation since the day that it hit stores. Needless to say, five years is a long time for a project to spend in development – but now, his faith in the project is being rewarded, as he getting his chance to actually make the show thanks to a deal that has be made with MGM+.
Via press release this morning, MGM+ has announced a series order for The Institute – and it's noted that it will be produced by Jack Bender and Benjamin Cavell (who has previous experience with Stephen King's work having had a part in developing the 2020 remake miniseries of The Stand). The first season will include eight episodes, and it has been announced that both Mary Louise-Parker and Ben Barnes have come aboard to star.
In the book, 12-year-old protagonist Luke Ellis finds himself kidnapped and brought to an eerie facility called The Institute that is full of special children who seem to possess psychic abilities (they are either TP, which stands for telepath, or TK, which stand for telekinetic). Various experiments are run on the kids with the promise that they will be returned home to their families when the work is done, but this is a lie, and Luke helps unite his fellow prisoners in trying to find a way to escape.
Mary-Louise Parker, who previously worked with Jack Bender on the Stephen King series Mr. Mercedes has been announced as Ms. Sigsby, who is described in the press release as "the charming but iron-willed director of the Institute and a true believer in its awful mission."
This will be Ben Barnes first time making a Stephen King adaptation, and he will be playing Tim Jamieson, a former police officer who moves to a small town to start a new life and ends up being embroiled in Luke Ellis' story.
Production on The Institute is scheduled to start in Nova Scotia later this year, but there is sadly no information available regarding a target series debut date. We'll have to wait and see what develops, but we'll keep fingers crossed that it will end up getting a 2025 premiere (joining Osgood Perkins' The Monkey as the second Stephen King adaptation of the year). Stay tuned here on CinemaBlend in the coming weeks and months for all of the latest updates about the new show – and you can learn about all of the projects that are presently in the works based on King's stories with my Upcoming Stephen King Movies and TV guide.
For more King-related goodness, you can also check out my weekly Stephen King series The King Beat (new columns every Thursday) and Adapting Stephen King, my deep dive into the long history of Stephen King adaptations.
