Stephen King‘s latest novel ‘The Institute’ was released today and already is being adapted into a television series. David E. Kelley and Jack Bender who are responsible for tackling DirecTV’s ‘Mr. Mercedes’ from the author are signed on to bring his latest work to life. Both of these creators will be executive producing the series with Bender also tapped to adapt. Spyglass Media Group optioned the book for an undisclosed amount which likely carried a hefty price tag as they picked it up in what is being described as “a competitive situation.”
King is very supportive of this outing and shared:
“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.”
The synopsis for the novel is below:
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.
Unlike ‘Mr. Mercedes’ this new endeavor is planned to be a limited series.
According to Lauren Whitney, President of Television for Spyglass:
“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.”
Bender would go on to say:
“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.”
While Kelley who is just coming off the second season of HBO’s ‘Big Little Lies’ added:
“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.”
Are you excited that ‘The Institute’ is already going to make its way to the small screen? What network or streaming service do you hope picks the series up? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
Source: The Hollywood Reporter
