EXCLUSIVE: When The Institute returns for season 2 this month, it will feature a scene author Stephen King personally requested.
The Institute is based on King's 2019 novel, which follows kids with telekinetic and telepathic powers (including Luke Ellis) who are abducted by a mysterious organization known as the Institute. Six years later, MGM+ and creator/showrunner Benjamin Cavell debuted the TV adaptation, starring Ben Barnes, Joe Freeman, Simone Miller, Fionn Laird, and Mary-Louise Parker.
King serves as an executive producer on The Institute alongside Cavell, Jack Bender, and others. In an interview with ScreenRant's Grant Hermanns, Barnes, who plays Tim Jamieson, revealed that the bestselling horror author had one request for The Institute season 2. He "very deliberately" wanted to see the children use their powers to "get cash out of an ATM."
King had that visual in his head, which Barnes can relate to because "when you're dreaming and conjuring stories, or writing songs, or anything, you have something very specific in your head."
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Cavell already had a connection to King before working on The Institute, having co-created and executive-produced Paramount+'s 2020 adaptation of The Stand, so the author knew Cavell and how he worked, especially when it came to bringing his stories to life on screen.
King was "quite thrilled" with how The Institute turned out, according to Barnes, who explained that Cavell made sure to incorporate certain themes that King typically includes in his books, like "fighting back against the man" and the "powers that be," as well as how innocence can be corrupted and "really ask[ing] difficult questions of people that are in charge."
Ben Barnes: "We didn't particularly have individual connections with Stephen King, but obviously, Ben Cavell, our showrunner, did, and I think he was quite thrilled with how the first season turned out thematically. Certainly, in terms of the thing that you associate with Stephen King so deliberately, his concerns about fighting back against the man, against the powers that be, the corruption of innocence, the power of youth — in this case, the supernatural power of youth — to stand up for itself, and kind of really ask difficult questions of people that are in charge. I think so long as we carried through those themes into the second season, then we were going to be on the right path. I did hear that he very deliberately wanted the kids to use their superpowers to get cash out of an ATM. [Laughs] That was his one visual, in his head, which I connect to because when you're dreaming and conjuring stories, or writing songs, or anything, you have something very specific in your head that you're like, 'Oh, it'd be cool to see that.' I love that he deliberately said, 'I want to see that.'"
Barnes and everyone who worked on The Institute knew that if they carried those messages forward into season 2, "then we were going to be on the right path."
Season 1 earned a 64% critic score and a 69% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes. Now, a little over a year later, the cast and crew are back for the second season, with Game of Thrones actor Alfie Allen joining the cast as billionaire Nolan Reeves.
After The Institute season 1 finale saw the characters destroy the facility, Luke, Tim, and the other survivors are now working toward their next goal: uncovering the crimes committed by the Institute.
King's stories have been adapted numerous times throughout his career, a trend that's not slowing down anytime soon. Recently, there have been movies based on The Monkey, The Long Walk, and The Running Man, as well as Mike Flanagan's hit new TV show Carrie, which has already been renewed for a second season.
The Institute is also coming back for season 2, as the drama, secrets, and conspiracies continue to grow with each episode.
The Institute season 2 premieres Sunday, November 8 at 9 p.m. EST on MGM+.
The Institute, released in 2025, follows 14-year-old genius Luke Ellis, who is kidnapped and wakes up at a mysterious facility filled with children possessing unusual abilities. Meanwhile, Tim Jamieson, a former police officer, seeks a fresh start in a nearby town, inevitably intertwining his fate with Luke's.
