Two New Cast Members Announced for TV Series Adaptation of Stephen King’s ‘The Institute’

Stephen King’s 2019 novel ‘The Institute’ is being adapted into a TV series by MGM+, with Deadline announcing new cast additions this afternoon. Simone Miller (‘Run The Burbs’) and Jason Diaz (‘Vampire Academy’) will join the cast, which already includes Ben Barnes (‘Shadow and Bone’) and Mary-Louise Parker (‘Weeds’).

According to Deadline, Miller will portray Kalisha, a sarcastic yet friendly inmate at The Institute who becomes one of the protagonist Luke’s closest allies. Diaz will play Tony, the most sadistic of the Institute’s orderlies, who takes pleasure in his authority over the children.

The series is directed and executive produced by Jack Bender (‘Lost’, ‘Mr. Mercedes’), with Benjamin Cavell (‘Justified’, ‘The Stand’) serving as writer and executive producer. MGM+ Studios is behind the project.

In the eight-episode adaptation, 12-year-old genius Luke Ellis is kidnapped and wakes up at The Institute, a facility housing children with unusual abilities. Nearby, Tim Jamieson (played by Barnes), a former police officer seeking a fresh start, finds his new life interrupted as his story intersects with Luke’s. Parker will play Ms. Sigsby, the charming yet ruthless director of the Institute, fully committed to its dark mission.

The novel’s synopsis, available on Amazon, describes it as a gripping tale of good versus evil, reminiscent of ‘Firestarter’ and ‘It’. The story begins with the brutal abduction of Luke Ellis from his suburban Minneapolis home. He wakes up in a windowless room at The Institute, surrounded by other children with telekinesis and telepathy. They all arrived the same way Luke did. The Institute’s sinister director and her staff are devoted to extracting the children’s supernatural abilities through harsh methods. As Luke grows increasingly desperate to escape and seek help, he learns that no one has ever escaped from the Institute.