Adaptations of stories by Stephen King, the prolific author often dubbed “the master of horror”, are a sub-genre unto themselves.
Already in 2025, we’ve had the fun horror comedy film The Monkey, while later this year, we are getting new on-screen versions of IT (with series Welcome to Derry), The Life of Chuck, The Long Walk and The Running Man.
That’s not all, though, as a TV adaptation of his 2019 sci-fi mystery thriller novel The Institute lands on MGM+ this weekend, and we are happy to report that it is very good.
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The show follows Luke Ellis (an excellent Joe Freeman, son of Sherlock star Martin Freeman), a teen genius with minor telekinetic abilities. He is kidnapped in the middle of the night and then held prisoner in a strange facility with a group of other children.
Dubbed ‘The Institute’, those in charge of the facility – including its enigmatic director Ms. Sigsby (a hypnotic Mary Louise-Parker, RED) – say that the kids are there for a top-secret, world-saving mission that requires doctors to run bizarre experiments on them.
Ms. Sigsby says that the children who follow the rules of the Institute won’t find the experience “excessively unpleasant” for the most part. She also says that once the kids’ work is completed, they will have their memories wiped and be returned home.
Luke, however, does not believe her and begins quietly leading the other children, who all have similar special abilities, in a revolt against their captors.
Also, juxtaposed with Luke’s story is a plot line centred around a haunted former cop named Tim (a very likeable Ben Barnes, The Punisher), looking for a fresh start, who gets a job in a nearby town to the Institute as a nightwatchman.
Learning more about the area’s history, he becomes suspicious of the Institute, which the locals have been told is a facility for the study of infectious diseases. As he begins investigating, he and Luke’s stories are “destined to collide”.
We’ve watched several episodes of the new King adaptation and can confirm that it makes for an extremely addictive and compelling watch.
Many have drawn comparisons between The Institute and Stranger Things, as they both feature young protagonists, a sci-fi story involving experiments on children and a kindly cop character with a dark past seeking answers.
That said, we’d argue that fans of Apple TV+ hit Severance may also enjoy the new King series. This is because the two shows are about people trapped in a building and forced to do mysterious work for a sinister organisation that acts like it has the best interests of what are essentially its prisoners at heart.
There are some definite Severance vibes in The Institute
Given that The Institute comes from the mind of King – it’s worth noting that the novel was brought to the screen by writer Benjamin Cavell and director Jack Bender (who already worked on King adaptations of The Stand and Mr. Mercedes) – it is also its own, significantly darker beast.
And this darkness is a boon to the show. As a viewer, you genuinely want to see the young lead characters uncover the mystery of the work they are doing for Ms. Sigsby and then escape to safety to expose her cruel practices to the world.
Will this happen? We will certainly be tuning in to see.