Series guide
- Horror
- Science fiction
- Thriller
- Stars
- Joe Freeman · Mary-Louise Parker · Ben Barnes
Images: MGM+
Where to watch The Institute
The Institute streams on Prime Video in the US as an MGM+ add-on channel (a 30-day free trial is available). All eight season 1 episodes are there now, and season 2 premieres November 8, 2026.
Streaming options in the United States, updated Nov 6, 2026. More from primevideo.com. Service logos are trademarks of their owners.
- Episodes aired
- 8 of 16
Seasons 2
The Institute episodes 16
Season 1 · 8 episodes · 8 aired · Jul 13, 2025 to Aug 24, 2025
S1.E1 ·
The Boy
Twelve-year-old genius Luke Ellis is abducted in the middle of the night and wakes up in a mysterious facility full of other kidnapped kids, all of whom share one unsettling thing in common.
Directed by Jack Bender · Written by Benjamin Cavell
S1.E2 ·
Shots for Dots
Luke learns the Institute's daily routine of tests, injections and a reward system built on good behavior, while the staff running this side of the facility reveal just how little say the kids actually have.
Directed by Jack Bender · Written by Ed Redlich
S1.E3 ·
Graduation
A fellow kid's sudden, celebrated 'graduation' to a mysterious next stage unsettles Luke and the others, who start piecing together what the Institute isn't telling them.
Directed by Brad Turner · Written by Sam Sheridan
S1.E4 ·
The Box
Punished for pushing back, Luke faces one of the Institute's harsher methods of control, even as he and his friends start quietly plotting a way out.
Directed by Brad Turner · Written by Sophie Owens-Bender
S1.E5 ·
Back Half
Transferred deeper into the facility, Luke discovers a far grimmer side of the Institute's operation and what 'graduation' actually costs the kids who go through it.
Directed by Jeff Renfroe · Written by Eric Dickinson
S1.E6 ·
Run
Luke makes his move, using everything he's learned about the Institute's blind spots to attempt an escape that could cost him everything.
Directed by Jeff Renfroe · Written by Benjamin Cavell & Ed Redlich & Sam Sheridan
S1.E7 ·
Hide
On the run and far from home, Luke crosses paths with a small-town South Carolina lawman whose own quiet life is about to be upended by what Luke knows.
Directed by Jack Bender · Written by Sam Sheridan
S1.E8 ·
Fight
With the Institute closing in, Luke and his allies, inside and outside its walls, make their stand in a season finale that decides who walks away.
Directed by Jack Bender · Written by Benjamin Cavell & Sam Sheridan
Season 2 · 8 episodes · 0 aired · Nov 8, 2026 to Dec 20, 2026
S2.E1 · · Up next · Projected date
The Reckoning
Written by Benjamin Cavell
S2.E2 · · Projected date
The Sanctuary
Written by Sam Sheridan
S2.E3 · · Projected date
Double Cross
Written by Sophie Owens-Bender
S2.E4 · · Projected date
Truth and Consequences
Written by Ed Redlich & Leanne Koch
S2.E5 · · Projected date
The Scraper
Written by Eric Dickinson
S2.E6 · · Projected date
Hinge
Written by Sam Sheridan
S2.E7 · · Projected date
Break On Through
Written by Sam Sheridan
S2.E8 · · Projected date
The Other Side
Written by Benjamin Cavell
Videos 2
Season 2 is two days out — here’s what season 1 actually did
Stephen King adaptations are usually either horror-movie-sized or prestige-miniseries-sized; The Institute is the rarer thing, a King story built to run as an ongoing series. Twelve-year-old Luke Ellis is kidnapped into a Maine facility that imprisons kids with telekinetic and telepathic abilities, pressuring them through a rewards-and-punishments system most of the show’s dread comes from watching normally decent-seeming staff administer. Joe Freeman plays Luke, Mary-Louise Parker is chillingly polite as the Institute’s director, and Ben Barnes doesn’t show up as the small-town cop whose path crosses Luke’s until the season is already most of the way through.
All eight season 1 episodes are on Prime Video now as an MGM+ add-on channel (or through MGM+ directly), and they’re a complete, self-contained story — King wrote the novel as a single book, not the first of a planned series, so season 1 has a real ending. Season 2 is adapting new material written for the show rather than more of the novel, following Luke and the kids who escaped with him as they try to bring the Institute down for good.
Season 2 premieres November 8, 2026, with new episodes weekly through December 20. Our season 2 schedule has every date. The production record is the place a casting or schedule change would show up first. Everything else we’re tracking by air date is in our watch guides.
The Institute cast 8
Joe FreemanLuke Ellis
Mary-Louise ParkerMs. Julia Sigsby
Ben BarnesTim Jamieson
Julian RichingsStackhouse- Simone MillerKalisha
- Fionn LairdNick
Robert JoyDr. Daniel Hendricks- Martin RoachChief Ashworth
- Director
- Jack Bender, Jeff Renfroe, Brad Turner
Photos via Wikimedia Commons. Joe Freeman: Kevin Paul, CC BY 4.0; Mary-Louise Parker: The Tony Awards, CC BY 3.0; Ben Barnes: Gage Skidmore, CC BY-SA 3.0; Julian Richings: Canadian Film Centre, CC BY 2.0; Robert Joy: Greg2600, CC BY-SA 2.0.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Where can I watch The Institute?
The Institute streams on Prime Video in the US as an MGM+ add-on channel (subscription), checked November 6, 2026.
How many episodes of The Institute are there?
8 in season 1, all aired. Season 2 adds 8 more starting November 8, 2026.
When did The Institute premiere?
July 13, 2025.
When is the next episode of The Institute?
Season 2 premieres November 8, 2026, with new episodes weekly through December 20.
Is The Institute based on a book?
Yes, Stephen King’s 2019 novel of the same name.
