MGM+ has announced that it has given a eight-episode series order to The Institute, an adaptation of the 2019 novel from Stephen King. The series is being executive produced by King veterans director Jack Bender (Mr. Mercedes) and writer Benjamin Cavell (The Stand), and will see Ben Barnes (Shadow and Bone) and Mary-Louise Parker (Weeds) leading the cast. The official synopsis for the series reads:
When 12-year-old genius Luke Ellis is kidnapped, he awakens at The Institute, a facility full of children who all got there the same way he did, and who are all possessed of unusual abilities. In a nearby town, haunted former police officer Tim Jamieson has come looking to start a new life, but the peace and quiet won’t last, as his story and Luke’s are destined to collide.
Barnes will play Tim Jamieson, “a disillusioned ex-cop who takes a job as the night knocker in a small town, withdrawing from the world until Luke’s plight reignites him and gives him something to believe in,” with Parker as Ms. Sigsby, “the charming but iron-willed director of the Institute and a true believer in its awful mission. She’s certain history will come to see her as a hero.”
“We are thrilled to have the opportunity to work again with Stephen King. And The Institute, based on his critically acclaimed novel, is an exciting addition to the MGM+ original series slate,” said Michael Wright, head of MGM+. “There is no creative team I would trust more to bring the book to life than Jack and Ben, whose creative vision and love of Mr. King’s voice, will bring this thought-provoking and gut-wrenching story to life, in the engaging, cinematic, and thrilling style MGM+ viewers expect.”
“I’m delighted and excited at the prospect of The Institute, with its high-intensity suspense, being filmed as a series,” said Stephen King. “The combination of Jack Bender and Ben Cavell guarantees that the results will be terrific.”
Filming on The Institute is set to get underway in Nova Scotia later this year,
