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There’s some good summer’s end news for TV fans, as it has been confirmed a second season of The Institute is on the way.
The new MGM Plus creepfest – which is available via Amazon Prime Video – is a show vibes-wise on a par with Stranger Things’ 80s shot of nostalgia over on Netflix.
Starring Ben Barnes, the eight-episode run was based on Stephen King’s 2019 novel of the same name and revolves around a shady government lab full of ne’er-do-well suits who are performing various horrible tests on children.
King shared his own renewal announcement on X, writing: ‘Sometimes you win just by showing them you’re still willing to fight. The Institute will return for season 2 on MGM Plus.’
In an official statement on the renewal, he also said: ‘Set free but hunted, new dangers await the escapees from the Institute and I can’t wait.’
Meanwhile, director Jack Bender and writer Ben Cavell said they’ve been ‘gratified’ by the response to the first season and thanked the cast and crew for their efforts.
‘We’re thrilled that everyone at MGM has enabled us to continue Stephen’s powerful and timely story,’ the duo said in the official statement.
‘From this project’s inception, we’ve felt there would be much more story to tell as our brilliant characters continue to navigate their way through the dangers of the world they’re facing.’
The news was also shared to MGM Plus’s X account, with fans quick to respond with their delight at the renewal.
@SEBrede wrote: ‘This just made my day!!!’ as @NoNoAnon09 celebrated: ‘Woot! Woot! MGM+ staying consistent!’
‘Please don’t make us wait 2+ years for the next season,’ pleaded @LP__1111 in the comments section.
In an interview with Metro ahead of the show’s release this summer, the director spoke about the similarities to Stranger Things – which was itself heavily influenced by Stephen King.
However, the creators of The Institute never wanted to ape the eeriness of the Upside Down.
Metro’s thoughts on The Institute
Senior TV Reporter Rebecca Cook shares her take…
Filmed in Nova Scotia and with MGM (owned by Mr Bezos) money doing the talking, the show looks excellent and has locked in performances. But you can’t help feeling it’s phoned in.
Plot points are seen coming a mile off and not enough work is done to get you to care much for the too-many characters – beyond the human impulse not to want to see children being tortured.
It might be unfair to lay all of this at the TV show’s feet, given that reviews of King’s novel said it felt like he had tossed in a bunch of scraps from previous dishes (Firestarter, Carrie, Needful Things).
But you can’t help feeling disappointed given this is King’s work. Where are the bone-chilling creeps and fearsome embodiments of evil?
It’s a noble tale of how we don’t do right by kids and so are ourselves the baddies. You just wish it cared a bit more about teasing out the monstrosity rather than the message.
Director Bender – who has worked on Lost, The Sopranos and Game of Thrones – said that he thought Stranger Things was a ‘crayon version’ of what they have made (not disparagingly, he hastened to add).
He explained: ‘I don’t mean to say anything derogatory about the show, I thought it was quite good, but it’s a very 80s look at that world and that collection of kids.
‘I wanted this show to be more of… call it an ink drawing as opposed to a coloring book crayon. I just wanted it to have more of an edge.
‘There will certainly be critics who compare it to that, because it’s about young people, it’s a similar place, doesn’t matter that Stephen wrote it first, and they took it – more power, more homage. They love Stephen King.’
The Institute is comparatively ‘darker and grittier’, the show’s writer Cavell said. ‘Not that ours is by any means unrelentingly dark, we have some levity,’ he added.
The Institute is available in the UK on MGM Plus.
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