‘The Institute’ Leads Are Already Pitching Their Own Season 2 Ideas

Unlike movies, TV shows based on Stephen King’s novel and short stories didn’t have much luck in the recent years, but The Institute might have just broken that curse.

Released on MGM+ back in July, the horror-ish TV series starring Ben Barnes didn’t end up with raving reviews only, but instead had solid ratings to continue with one more season, despite covering the entirety of King’s book in the first one.

Now that The Institute’s creators will have to come up with something of their own, probably with support from King himself, the show’s lead has an idea that has already worked out just fine in other successful projects.

Ben Barnes Wants ‘The Last of Us’ Dynamics in ‘The Institute’ Season 2

Even though this wasn’t quite the centre of the entire series, the encounter between Barnes’ Tim Jamieson and Joe Freeman’s Luke is what made it all the way more compelling for most of the viewers.

As Barnes revealed in a recent interview with Collider, he would rather see the two going on another adventure together instead of some sort of prequel dating back to other sinister events at the Institute.

“The most interesting part of the show for me is the dynamic between Tim and Luke, so instead of looking backwards, I think it’d be interesting to see what the future is for them”, the actor said.

Apart from that, Barnes added that the contrast between the two characters is what makes their duo intriguing to watch, which is also something that helped HBO’s hit series The Last of Us gain so much popularity.

“I’d like to see them dynamic duo it a bit, in that way, in the way that we see it in things like Léon: The Professional and The Last of Us, where there’s that slightly older/younger dynamic where one of them is very special”, the actor stated, clarifying that he doesn’t yet know whether Stephen King would support such a “pseudo-dad role” thought.

Joe Freeman Wants Some Other Characters’ Exploration in Season 2 Instead

While his co-star feels like there was a lack of interaction between Tim and Luke whose relationship would go further, Freeman doesn’t seem to be concerned about viewers getting to know his character better — alternatively, he would love to see side characters’ development much better.

“I’d love to know more about the Tim shooting. I’d love to know more about Ms. Sigsby’s background, but also Nicky and Kalisha. I really want to see more character building for those guys, for sure. I feel like Luke is already touched on a lot”, the actor admitted.

The Institute’s season 1 is now available on MGM+.