‘The Institute’: Ben Barnes & Mary-Louise Parker To Star In Series Ordered By MGM+ Based On Stephen King’s Novel

Nellie Andreeva
·4-min read

EXCLUSIVE: MGM+ has given a series order to The Institute, a thriller based on the 2019 Stephen King novel. Ben Barnes (Shadow and Bone) and Mary-Louise Parker (Weeds) are set to lead the drama from director/executive producer Jack Bender (Lost, Mr. Mercedes), writer/executive producer Benjamin Cavell (Justified, The Stand) and MGM+ Studios. Production is slated to begin in Nova Scotia later this year.

In the eight-episode The Institute, When 12-year-old genius Luke Ellis is kidnapped, he awakens at The Institute, a facility full of children who all got there the same way he did, and who are all possessed of unusual abilities. In a nearby town, haunted former police officer Tim Jamieson (Barnes) has come looking to start a new life, but the peace and quiet won’t last, as his story and Luke’s are destined to collide.

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Barnes’ Tim Jamieson is a disillusioned ex-cop who takes a job as the night knocker in a small town, withdrawing from the world until Luke’s plight reignites him and gives him something to believe in.

Parker, who I hear has a one-year deal, will play Ms. Sigsby, the charming but iron-willed director of the Institute and a true believer in its awful mission. She’s certain history will come to see her as a hero.

“I’m delighted and excited at the prospect of The Institute, with its high-intensity suspense, being filmed as a series,” King said. “The combination of Jack Bender and Ben Cavell guarantees that the results will be terrific.”

The Institute follows another series by MGM+ based on King’s literary work, Chapelwaite.

“We are thrilled to have the opportunity to work again with Stephen King. And The Institute, based on his critically acclaimed novel, is an exciting addition to the MGM+ original series slate,” said Michael Wright, head of MGM+. “There is no creative team I would trust more to bring the book to life than Jack and Ben, whose creative vision and love of Mr. King’s voice, will bring this thought-provoking and gut-wrenching story to life, in the engaging, cinematic, and thrilling style MGM+ viewers expect.”

Bender has extensive experience in King series adaptations, having executive produced CBS’ Under The Dome; Audience’s Mr. Mercedes, whose Season 1 cast included Parker; and HBO’s The Outsider. At MGM+, he is also director/executive producer on hit horror series From, which counts King among its fans.

When The Institute was published in 2019, it was originally acquired by Spyglass for the Mr. Mercedes team of writer/EP David E. Kelley and EP Bender. This is a new incarnation of the project with a new writer and studio.

“I’m thrilled that Stephen King has entrusted me with another of his brilliant novels and continuing the extraordinary creative relationship with Michael Wright and MGM+,” Bender said. “Working alongside Ben Cavell and a team of exceptional writers, to tell the story of these uniquely gifted children, will ensure a suspenseful and engrossing series.”

Cavell is coming off adapting King’s novel The Stand into the 2020 Paramount+ miniseries of the same name.

“It is my great honor to have another chance to adapt Stephen King, who has been generous and collaborative beyond my wildest imaginings,” he said. “Also, the opportunity to work with Jack Bender, who has directed some of my all-time favorite television, is truly a dream come true. I couldn’t be more grateful to Michael Wright and MGM for putting this team together.”

Barnes starred as General Kirigan in Netflix’s series Shadow and Bone. He also guest starred on two Netflix anthology series, Black Mirror and Guillermo Del Toro’s Cabinet of Curiosities. In features, Barnes was most recently in Anand Tucker’s crime drama The Critic opposite Mark Strong, Ian McKellen, and Gemma Arterton. He recently signed with Gersh and is also repped by Luber Roklin.

Parker stars in Paramount Global’s upcoming limited series The Gray House. On the film side, she is in Bernardo Britto’s Omni Loop, which premiered at this year’s SXSW festival and was also seen in Seneca: On the Creation of Earthquakes. She is repped by CAA, Untitled Entertainment and Jackoway Austen Tyerman.

Bender is repped by UTA and Attorney Bob Myman. Cavell is repped by Larry Shuman at The Shuman Company, CAA, and Johnson Shapiro Slewett & Kole.

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