New to MGM+ this July isThe Institute, the latest TV adaptation of aStephen Kinghorror novel. If the premise of a young man suddenly awaking in a strange and surreal land sounds similar to the psychological chillerFrom, it’s because both series were produced by MGM+ and partially filmed on the same set. As such, fans ofFromneed to stay on the platform and check intoThe Instituteat once.
With weekly episodes slated through June 30, 2025,The Instituteoffers eight chaptersof spine-tingling terror as only Stephen King can conceive. It may be geared toward a slightly younger demographic thanFrom, but both stories feature embattled protagonists who must navigate an otherworldly environment while discovering and exposing its darkest secrets. Better yet, both series are guided by Jack Bender, a longtime director of Stephen King’s work who knows how to channel his scariest moments.
The Institute
The ‘Institute’s Premise and Source Material
Based on Stephen King’s 2019 novel,The Institute, the MGM+ TV series of the same name focuses on Luke Ellis (Joe Freeman), a deeply intellectual 12-year-old boy who suddenly wakes in a sinister institution that resembles his bedroom. Unbeknownst to him, Luke’s parents were brutally murdered by the kidnappers who took him to the institute. Held among other kidnapped children in an area called the Front Half, Luke slowly learns many of them have psychic, telepathic, and telekinetic powers.
Luke soon meets his captor, Ms. Sigsby (Mary-Louise Parker), the leader of the Institute. She believes these gifted children will save the world from impending doom. However, in actuality, this is a front to strip the children of their powers through torturous methods. Once the children are robbed of their extrasensory skills, they are sent to a mysterious holding cell called the Back Half and are never seen again.
Luke’s biggest chance to find salvation comes from Tim Jamieson (Ben Barnes), a newly appointed police officer assigned to knock on neighborhood doors at night to keep the community safe. With his own cryptic past to untangle, Luke must determine if Tim is truly trustworthy or has a hidden evil agenda.
In a storytelling motif that King has been mastering sinceItin the 1980s,The Institutepreys on childhood fears, the mistrust of adults, the uncertainty of the future, and ultimately, striving for salvation from these anxieties. With safety in numbers,Luke must determine who within the sinister institute is worthy of teaming up with, and who is secretly working with Ms. Sigsby for nefarious purposes.
How ‘The Institute’ Connects to MGM+’s ‘From’
Given the similar premise of a protagonist suddenly trapped in a mysterious geographical nightmare, it’s no surprise that Jack Bender has been tapped to direct the first two episodes ofThe Institute. Bender, a longtime TV director who has worked onThe SopranosandLost, has plenty of experience adapting Stephen King tales to television.
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As a reminder,Fromfollows Boyd Stevens (Harold Perrineau), a man who suddenly finds himself trapped in a bizarre, hellish landscape. As Boyd tries to survive a vicious onslaught of nocturnal creatures, he appoints himself as the sheriff in what turns out to be a surreal purgatorial limbo. With others trapped inside, the survivors must work to uncover the dark secrets behind the strange and surreal place. The premise starkly resembles that ofThe Institute, with the main difference being the age of its protagonist.
Connecting the two series further,FromandThe Institutewere both partially filmed on the same MGM set in Halifax, Nova Scotia. An entire town was built on a set forFromin North Beaver Bank, Nova Scotia, after the real-life Beaver Bank Villa was destroyed in 2004. With so much time and resources spent on erecting the town, it makes perfectly logical sense that MGM+ would recycle the set for the similarly themedInstitute.
‘The Institute’s Reception and Release Schedule
While not quite reachingFrom’s level of acclaim just yet (96% RT score),The Institutehas been met with moderate to positive reviews thus far. The series holds an early 71% Tomato Meter and 60% Popcorn Meter score on Rotten Tomatoes, and a 6.8 IMDb score. With the recommended reviews, a similar story toFrom, and the strong track record of past King-Bender-Kelley collaborations,The Instituteis a wickedly worthy destination this summer.
At their core, bothFromandThe Instituterevolve around psychologically vexed survivors trapped in an eerie, unknown environment with a horrifying hidden past. WhileFromis geared towards more mature audiences,The Institutedoes what King has proven he is the king of for decades: mortifying children. Despite the different demographics, both series are led by Jack Bender and share a similar Nova Scotia setting.The Instituteis available to stream onMGM+.
