Stephen King has written more than 60 books during his illustrious career, and a significant portion of his stories have received Hollywood adaptations with many more in development. I don't have the exact numbers on this, but I have to imagine that King has had more of his works developed than almost any other author. In 2025 alone, we've had The Monkey and Mike Flanagan's take on his novella The Life of Chuck.
Coming up in the second half of the year, we'll see the premieres of The Long Walk, The Running Man, IT: Welcome to Derry, and now, The Institute, which begins airing on MGM+ on Sunday, July 13. Flanagan is also working on a Carrie series for Amazon and a long-awaited adaptation of The Dark Tower.
The Institute is an eight-episode series brought to life by director Jack Bender (Lost) and writer Benjamin Cavell (Justified). The plot centers on a shadowy institution that kidnaps kids who show a proclivity for telepathy and/or telekinesis. After snatching their various "recruits," the staff puts them through rigorous tests, essentially torturing them, in an effort to amplify their powers, all in the service of supposed "world-saving work."
The main storyline revolves around teen genius Luke Ellis (Joe Freeman), one of the latest kids to be kidnapped and taken to the Institute. A parallel storyline follows a former cop turned drifter named Tim Jamieson (Ben Barnes) who accepts a job as a Night Knocker in a nearby small town and becomes entangled in the Institute's many mysteries.
I have watched all eight episodes of The Institute's first season, and overal, I enjoyed myself! Read on for a completely spoiler-free review of The Institute season 1.
The Institute show review
The Institute should appease anyone who read and enjoyed King's novel as it is a solid adaptation that doesn't deviate too much from the original plot. There are a couple of changes, mainly the expansion of Tim's character and something else at the end that I won't spoil to set up possible future seasons, but other than that it's a pretty by-the-numbers adaptation. There are some drawbacks to that decision, but I'll get into that more later.
To start with the show's strengths, it's a satisfying and highly watchable series that's never boring, moves quickly, and has several compelling performances to keep viewers hooked. To me, the cast standouts were Mary-Louise Parker as the enigmatic and manipulative Institute head Ms. Sigsby, and Julian Richings as her menacing second-in-command Trevor Stackhouse. Richings is a seriously underrated character actor who always delivers. Robert Joy, whom From fans will recognize as Henry Kavanaugh, is perfect as the methodical yet somewhat bumbling Dr. Hendricks.
The teen performers vary in terms of their acting prowess, but their performances improve as the show goes along and the ties between characters are strengthened. This series marks Joe Freeman's first big role and he does a great job.
Visually, you can tell The Institute didn't have a huge budget, but production did an admirable job bringing the foreboding building to life. It looked exactly how I pictured it from the novel, providing a fittingly bleak setting complete with imposing concrete walls and a playground caged in by a barbed wire-topped fence.
The Institute's most significant weakness lies in its strict adherence to the book, which isn't necessarily a bad thing, but King's novel didn't exactly reinvent the wheel. He's been doing the gifted kids vs. evil adults thing throughout his entire career, and the idea of people experimenting on psychically talented teens has been seen in everything from X-Men to Stranger Things.
I wouldn't say that The Institute, book or show, does anything markedly different from what we've seen before. As it stands, it feels forgettable. Don't get me wrong, the series is a worthwhile watch, but will I still be thinking about it months from now? Doubtful.
Verdict
The latest MGM+ series isn't groundbreaking, but it still delivers a well-crafted season of television that sets up an interesting premise for a potential season 2. I'm hoping it gets renewed, as it would push the writers to move beyond the source material (since King hasn't written a sequel) and explore something new, especially because there is at least one significant change from the book that I'm eager to see play out.
While The Institute might be too risk-averse, strong character work from the show's antagonists creates many dynamic scenes. And when the Institute's true purpose is eventually revealed, it forces viewers to consider a thorny ethical dilemma. Overall, it's an ideal pick for those who enjoy moody conspiracy thrillers and King's storytelling. The pacing and structure work in the story's favor as The Institute plunges into its disturbing storyline almost immediately and carries its momentum through to a climactic finale. I think fans of the novel will be pleased.
Season grade: B
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