New Stephen King TV Adaptation Risks Being Too Similar To A Hit Amazon Show's Best Story (2024)

It is exciting that a new Stephen King TV adaptation is in development, but it is hard not to be concerned about how it could risk being too similar to a hit Amazon show. Not all Stephen King books traverse well to the small screen, but the ones that do often become beloved adaptations that capture the essence of The King of Horror's storytelling forte. For instance, while shows like Castle Rock and 11.22.63 boast high critical ratings, presenting perfect blueprints of how King's work should be adapted, others like The Dead Zone and Under The Dome are relatively disappointing.

Given how every Stephen King TV adaptation can either be a hit or a miss, one cannot predict whether an upcoming show based on the author's novel will succeed. However, the Stephen King novel the show is adapting has the makings of a compelling TV series and even seems relevant for the times. Unfortunately, it also shares way too many parallels with a popular Amazon show.

Stephen King's The Institute And Amazon's Gen V Have Similar Stories

Both Focus On Young Superpowered Individuals Imprisoned By An Evil Corporation

The upcoming Stephen King adaptationThe Institute revolves around a superpowered teenage boy, Luke Ellis, who gets abducted and awakens in a mysterious facility. He soon discovers that the facility accommodates other kids with supernatural abilities, who are all being experimented upon by a shadow government agency. As the story progresses, the kids in the central Institute decide to join forces and use their incredible abilities to overpower the evil corporation. The Institute's story seems perfect for a TV adaptation but seems uncannily similar to Gen V's.

Even in Gen V season 1, several young supes are imprisoned in a secret facility called The Woods. After being treated like lab rats for inhumane experiments, the young supes eventually take a stand against the humans that lead the facility. Toward Gen V season 1's ending, the supes wage war against the humans that harmed them and even defeat them to earn their freedom. Gen V's connection with its parent series, The Boys, makes its storyline more expansive, but its season 1 similarities with the Stephen King book are a little too explicit to be ignored.

The Institute Show Must Reinvent The Stephen King Book's Formula

The Stephen King Show Must Avoid Being Too Similar To Gen V

If The Institute's TV adaptation closely follows the events of the original Stephen King novel, it could risk being too similar to Gen V season 1. Owing to this, it must reinvent the book's formula instead of adapting it loyally. One way to achieve this would be by drawing a clear picture of the central Institute's purpose and distinguishing it from that of Gen V's The Woods. The adaptation can also delve deep into its young characters' backstories and make them seem different from the ones featured in Gen V.

Instead of becoming another series about "kids with powers" that blurs the lines between good and evil, The Institute can also experiment with other themes surrounding the illusion of autonomy and free will. While this approach will not make it completely stand out in the supernatural genre, it will at least give it a distinct philosophical and existential edge. Hopefully, the Stephen King show's creators will come up with creative ideas to make it fresh and compelling instead of portraying it as another rehashed exploration of familiar tropes and ideas.

The Institute

Horror

Fantasy

Thriller

Luke Ellis parents are murdered. He wakes up at The Institute in a room that looks just like his own, except there's no window. Outside his door are other doors, behind which are other kids. who got there the same way Luke did.

Cast

Mary-Louise Parker , Ben Barnes

Seasons

1

Streaming Service(s)

MGM+

Directors

Jack Bender

Main Genre

Horror

Number of Episodes

8