A teen with dangerously strong telekinetic powers gets pushed to the limit in this Stephen King adaptation. Nope, it’s not Carrie—it’s The Institute, which returns for a second season next month after its first installment proved a ratings hit for MGM+. Today’s arrival of a first trailer gives us some hints about what’s coming, though we don’t really know what to expect after season one, which followed King’s book pretty closely from start to finish.
A new character—a tech billionaire played by Game of Thrones‘ Alfie Allen—is clearly going to be essential, as he’s all over this trailer. Check it out.
“In the wake of their climactic escape from Dennison, Luke and his friends search for a way to end the Institute for good,” reads the official synopsis. “Meanwhile, the Director enlists a new ally, tech billionaire Nolan Reeves, to help him rebuild, and Sigsby’s life as a fugitive pushes her to seek a way back ‘in.'”
When last we saw Luke (Joe Freeman)—aged up a bit from the book, as were all the kid characters—along with Tim (Ben Barnes) and the other good guys, they were fleeing the crumbling Institute, vowing to get the word out about its top-secret activities, namely kidnapping psychic kids, killing their families, and pressing them into service as human weapons.
But stopping something the well-connected bad guys believe could control the fate of the human race isn’t going to be easy, as this trailer, which has the tone of a spy thriller at times, suggests.
The rest of the cast includes Mary Louise Parker (Ms. Sigsby), Simone Miller (Kalisha), Fionn Laird (Nicky), Arlen So (George), Robert Joy (Dr. Hendricks), and Hannah Galway (Wendy); it looks like Jeff Fahey, the Lawnmower Man himself, will also be back to expand on his mysterious villain role from season one.
The Institute returns November 8. Will you be tuning in?
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