Stranger Things will be missed after it ends its long run with season 5, but, fortunately, it looks like a renewed Stephen King show will perfectly fill the void it will leave behind. The new Stephen King TV show was not exactly a hit among critics, but it still managed to perform well enough to get greenlit for another season.
Soon after its premiere on Netflix in 2016, Stranger Things became a massive success and rose in the ranks to become the streaming service’s most valuable IP. Although many other sci-fi shows had landed on Netflix around the same time as Stranger Things, most of them were either canceled or wrapped up after a few seasons.
When it comes to Stranger Things, however, Netflix seemingly struck gold and kept renewing it for one season after another. After a decade, however, Stranger Things is finally concluding, marking the end of an era for Netflix. While Netflix may not have a worthy Stranger Things replacement just yet, a new Stephen King adaptation has the potential to become a worthy successor.
After Stranger Things Ends, The Institute Can Be Its Perfect Replacement
Based on Stephen King’s book of the same name, MGM+’s The Institute shares many narrative parallels with Stranger Things. Just like the Netflix sci-fi show, The Institute features children with supernatural powers, primarily telekinesis and telepathy. The “gifted” children in both shows are held captive in a government facility, where adults experiment on them.
In both sci-fi series, the main lead is a young teenager with supernatural abilities, portrayed as the “one” who dares to challenge the overarching system and formulate a plan to escape captivity. Although unlike Stranger Things, The Institute unfolds primarily inside the titular facility, its action and drama eventually move out of the primary setting.
Towards the end of The Institute season 1, its main characters even end up escaping the facility, just like Stranger Things‘ Eleven breaks free from Hawkins Lab. Similar to Eleven, The Institute‘s protagonist, Luke, also finds an ally in an adult police officer. With so many narrative overlaps between the two, it is fair to say that The Institute is becoming more and more like Stranger Things.
The Institute Season 1’s Ending Promises An Exciting Future For The Stephen King Show
The Institute season 1’s ending is conclusive in the sense that it aligns perfectly with that of its source material. At the same time, though, the show does not shy away from leaving a few story threads unresolved, which paves the way for another season. The fact that its protagonist, Luke, also ends up in the outside world like Eleven suggests new threats and conflicts lie ahead for the characters.
Hinting at how The Institute season 2 will unfold, Stephen King said (via Variety), “Set free but hunted, new dangers await the escapees from the Institute and I can’t wait.“
Even though the main psychic children in The Institute destroy the titular facility towards the end of season 1, the show hints at the existence of many such institutes. This hints that a larger conspiracy is at play, leaving enough room for another season to unfold. With the Stephen King show offering so much to look forward to, it could be perfect for Stranger Things fans after the Netflix series ends.
