The Perfect Follow-Up to Stephen King’s The Institute

It is hard not to see how one of Prime Video‘s best returning shows serves as the perfect follow-up to a new hit Stephen King series. The Prime Video show in question boasts an almost perfect Rotten Tomatoes score of 97%. Unlike the Stephen King TV show, it is not based on a book, but it still serves as a subset of a renowned show adapted from a comic book series.

After The Long Walk‘s critical success, it is hard not to believe that 2025 is turning out to be an incredible year for Stephen King adaptations. More often than not, movie and TV adaptations of Stephen King’s works turn out to be misses rather than hits. In 2025, however, even a TV show based on his novel has become commercially successful.

The Stephen King TV show initially struggled to get an above-average critical score from viewers and critics. Even though its overall reviews remained divisive, it managed to garner enough viewership to be renewed for season 2. Before its season 2 comes out, however, viewers must watch a returning Prime Video series that seems like its perfect follow-up.

Gen V Is A Must-Watch After Stephen King’s The Institute

When compared with MGM+’s adaptation of Stephen King’s The Institute, Gen V seems far bigger in scale and production value. However, many intriguing narrative overlaps exist between the two shows. For instance, in both, the main characters are young teenagers with supernatural abilities.

They carry the heavy burden of being gifted in a world of ordinary humans who are dead set on exploiting them. Gen V season 1 also walks through a story thread where a bunch of superpowered characters are held captive in a secret facility and brutally experimented on in the name of serving the greater good.

This story beat in the show seems reminiscent of what happens in Stephen King’s The Institute, where children with telepathic and telekinetic abilities are forced to execute assassinations for a government-run facility. Considering all the parallels between the two shows, Gen V seems to be the perfect series for those who loved reading or watching The Institute.

Gen V Season 2 Will Give A Glimpse Of How The Institute Season 2 Can Unfold

Just like the young characters in Gen V start a rebellion against the humans who harmed them towards the end of season 1, the ones in The Institute do the same and escape the titular facility before season 1 concludes. Owing to their similar conclusions in season 1, it is hard not to believe their stories will share many overlaps in their upcoming installments.

Gen V will, of course, tie into The Boys, which will make it a part of a larger, interconnected universe. However, The Institute, too, will likely expand its vision far beyond the original Stephen King book, allowing it to come close to Gen V in its exploration of systemic abuse and humanity’s moral decay.

While the two shows will likely become more and more different as they progress into their future installments, they will still come off as the perfect companion pieces. Therefore, while waiting for the Stephen King show’s season 2, viewers can check out Gen V, which is set to return on Prime Video with season 2 on September 17, 2025.