The Institute, one of Stephen King‘s recent TV adaptations, was recently renewed for a second season, and one of the stars of the show has a pitch to keep the show running beyond Season 2. Joe Freeman, the son of acclaimed actor Martin Freeman, plays the lead character, Luke Ellis, alongside co-stars Ben Barnes and Mary Louise Parker. When addressing the Season 1 finale, which airs August 26, Freeman pitched a great idea to keep the show running beyond the original storylines and characters in the first season. Could The Institute work as an anthology?
In the show, Luke is one of several children who have been kidnapped by a secret organization. He’s now part of the Institute, a facility housing children with telepathic abilities. Produced under the MGM+ label (and streaming on the platform of the same name), The Institute was created by Benjamin Clavell in partnership with Jack Bender (who also directs), and based on the King novel of the same name.
Freeman talked recently with Screen Rant, and said he had been thinking about some ideas to continue the show with different characters. The problem with his pitch is that it would involve a complete change in terms of the cast, and he wouldn’t be involved with it. Regardless, it really sounds like a good way to continue the premise in an anthology-like narrative:
“Yeah, ideas and talks were thrown around, just for fun, as well as actually serious, because shows do get recommissioned. So, that was always a conversation to be had. I was talking to Ben about it, and the idea that I really liked and fixated on was that — and it puts me out of work if there is touch with Season 2 — we go completely to another place, like Japan, or anywhere in the world, and it’s from the point of view of that place.
“None of the original book characters are in it, and it’s just a completely different story, in a different language, done by different people. I think that would have been cool, but if Season 2 does happen, it doesn’t look like it’s going to go down that way.”
Can Stephen King’s ‘The Institute’ Work Without Its Main Set of Characters?
While the show wasn’t highly acclaimed by critics (Season 1 sits at 63% on Rotten Tomatoes), the reception from the audience was still solid enough to warrant a second season. Nevertheless, while King’s original book is massive, it just follows the story told in Season 1. Anything beyond that will have to be based on original material. With the support the series has gotten from the master, perhaps he could write an episode or two for Season 2, giving the show much more presence. Anything is a possibility at the moment.
But working something out without the core characters sounds too risky. Whatever engagement the first season had with viewers was likely the result of well-written characters, and the performers behind them. We’ll just have to wait to see what they do with Season 2.
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