Country United States
Original language English
Genres Horror, Thriller
Runtime 52 minutes
Total runtime 7 hours 48 minutes
Status Continuing
Network MGM+
Showrunner Benjamin Cavell
IMDb rating 6.7/10 (12K votes)
External links TheTVDB page
IMDB page
TheMovieDB page
Last update 10 novembre 2026 - 11:15
on 11 databases

The Institute

2025 6K members 2 seasons9 episodes

Luke Ellis, a 12-year-old prodigy, is captured and ends up at the Institute, a place populated by children who have all been brought there in the same way as him, and who all have exceptional skills. Ex-police officer Tim Jamieson's story and Luke's are destined to intersect.

BetaSeries' opinion

The Institute Season 2: Premiere Date, Alfie Allen's New Villain and Everything to Know Before Stephen King's Thriller Returns November 8

The countdown has started. On Sunday, November 8, 2026, "The Institute" returns for its second season, and fans of Stephen King adaptations now have just 14 days to catch up. Stephen King announced the date himself on social media, and the official trailer is already out. Season 2 has eight episodes, the same as the first. In the United States the show airs on MGM+, and Amazon MGM Studios handles distribution in other territories, where many viewers watch it on Prime Video. If Season 1 slipped off your radar last summer, now is a good time to come back.

Some context first. "The Institute" was a solid hit. It premiered in July 2025, and MGM+ said it was the network's most successful premiere ever. The renewal came just before the Season 1 finale aired in August 2025. Production on Season 2 started in Halifax on February 3, 2026, and filming ended in early June. The creative team hasn't changed: Jack Bender, the director behind "From" and "Mr. Mercedes," is back, along with writer and showrunner Benjamin Cavell, known for "Justified" and "The Stand." Stephen King is still an executive producer.

Here is a quick refresher if you've forgotten Season 1. Luke Ellis, a 12-year-old genius played by Joe Freeman, is kidnapped and wakes up inside a secret facility in the Maine woods. Every child there was taken the same way, and all of them have telepathic or telekinetic abilities. The staff runs cruel tests on the kids in the name of "saving the world." Mary-Louise Parker plays Ms. Sigsby, who runs the facility with icy calm, and Robert Joy plays the unsettling Dr. Hendricks. In the nearby town of Dennison River Bend, Ben Barnes plays Tim Jamieson, a former police officer haunted by his past. Luke's story and Tim's were always heading toward each other. The finale was one of the bleakest endings of any King adaptation. Luke and the other children combined their powers to lift the entire facility into the air and bring it crashing down. They escaped, but young Avery paid a terrible price. The final scenes then revealed that similar Institutes exist all over the world. Destroying one building barely hurt the organization.

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