Mr. Mercedes duo turning Stephen King’s The Institute into a limited series

Last Updated on August 2, 2021

Stephen King has enjoyed so much success in his career, it's tough to imagine that more success could still be cause for celebration for him at this point, but this does seem to be a big day for King anyway. While IT: CHAPTER TWO rakes in the dough at the global box office, King's new novel The Institute has been released on the same day that the third season of Mr. Mercedes, the series adaptation of his Bill Hodges Trilogy, begins airing on Audience Network… And today it has also been announced that the Mr. Mercedes duo of David Kelley and Jack Bender are working together on a limited series adaptation of The Institute. (Copies of The Institute can be purchased HERE.)

Mr. Mercedes series creator/executive producer David Kelley, who has written every episode of the third season with Jonathan Shapiro, will be writing the The Institute limited series. Jack Bender, a Mr. Mercedes executive producer who has also directed most of the episodes, will be directing The Institute.

Described as "the most riveting and unforgettable story of kids confronting evil since It", The Institute has the following description: 

In the middle of the night, in a house on a quiet street in suburban Minneapolis, intruders silently murder Luke Ellis’s parents and load him into a black SUV. The operation takes less than two minutes. Luke will wake up at The Institute, in a room that looks just like his own, except there’s no window. And outside his door are other doors, behind which are other kids with special talents—telekinesis and telepathy—who got to this place the same way Luke did: Kalisha, Nick, George, Iris, and ten-year-old Avery Dixon. They are all in Front Half. Others, Luke learns, graduated to Back Half, “like the roach motel,” Kalisha says. “You check in, but you don’t check out.”

In this most sinister of institutions, the director, Mrs. Sigsby, and her staff are ruthlessly dedicated to extracting from these children the force of their extranormal gifts. There are no scruples here. If you go along, you get tokens for the vending machines. If you don’t, punishment is brutal. As each new victim disappears to Back Half, Luke becomes more and more desperate to get out and get help. But no one has ever escaped from the Institute.

As psychically terrifying as Firestarter, and with the spectacular kid power of It, The Institute is Stephen King’s gut-wrenchingly dramatic story of good vs. evil in a world where the good guys don’t always win.

The Institute is the first television acquisition for Spyglass Media Group. Lauren Whitney, President of Television for Spyglass, had this to say about the project: 

Having the opportunity to work on a new and brilliant book by Stephen King is an absolute privilege. We are thrilled to collaborate with this dream team, including the incomparable David E. Kelley, and Jack Bender, the architect behind this project, whose extensive directing and executive producing credits speak for themselves. After such a competitive pursuit, we have big plans for The Institute here at Spyglass."

King added: 

I’m delighted to be working with Jack and David, the creative team behind Mr. Mercedes. We think alike, and I believe The Institute is going to be a great success."

Bender provided the following statement: 

I am thrilled to be working with Spyglass Media and couldn’t be more excited that we’ll be starting with Stephen King’s extraordinary new book The Institute. Continuing to work with David Kelley only adds to the brilliance I am surrounded by."

And here's what Kelley had to say: 

It’s a privilege and a joy to be able to team with Stephen and Jack again. Stephen has written yet another compelling and brilliant book. I cannot wait to jump in."

Bender previously served as an executive producer and director on the Stephen King-inspired series Under the Dome, and is executive producing the HBO mini-series The Outsider, which is also based on a King novel. Bender is probably best known for directing many episodes of Lost, and he also directed CHILD'S PLAY 3.

We'll be keeping a close eye on The Institute as the limited series moves forward.