By Sarah Mills

June 5, 2025 – 7:43 PM PDT

LONDON – American writer Stephen King and director Jack Bender have joined forces again for a new TV thriller “The Institute”, which premiered in London on Thursday.

Based on King’s best-selling 2019 novel by the same name, Bender said after working together on shows such as crime drama “Mr Mercedes” and sci-fi show “Under the Dome” they were keen to find a new project.

“This show is about the power of youth coming together to rectify the world that all of us adults have screwed up a little bit,” Bender said.

As well as directing, Bender, along with King has an executive producer credit on the show, as does Ben Cavell, who also wrote the small screen adaptation.

Joe Freeman, in his first major role, stars as Luke Ellis, a teenager with unusual abilities, who is kidnapped and taken to “The Institution,” a facility full of trapped kids with psychological powers.

“He’s never acted and he’s remarkable ….The minute I saw him on tape, it was: ‘Oh, my God, this kid is it. He’s so real,'” Bender said of 19-year-old Freeman, the son of actor Martin Freeman.

Asked if his dad, known for “The Hobbit” franchise and “Sherlock” had given him any advice, Joe Freeman said it was not to take anything for granted, as “the job (of an actor) is 99% rejection.”

Freeman stars alongside Emmy award winner Mary-Louise Parker as Ms Sigsby, who runs the institution and Ben Barnes, who plays an ex-cop whose life becomes intertwined with the facility.

“It’s a sort of… a slow simmering sort of horrifying thriller rather than a horror,” Barnes said.

While the first series covers the book, there are plans to continue.

“We certainly intend to tell much more story….if there’s an appetite for it, we will absolutely continue this story because these characters, these actors, this crew… it all feels too good to leave behind,” Cavell said.

^{Rporting by Sarah Mills; Editing by Diane Craft}