A new Stephen King sci-fi adaptation already seems to have the perfect follow-up show on HBO. From a narrative standpoint, the sci-fi series follows a standalone Stephen King book that does not draw any connections to the author’s other works. It is still hard not to see it as the ideal predecessor to an upcoming HBO series.
For a long time, TV adaptations of Stephen King’s books were seemingly struggling. After 2019’s The Outsider, none of the shows based on the author’s works left their mark. However, 2025 is turning out to be a game-changer for Stephen King TV shows, as one series based on the author’s six-year-old novel is already doing fairly well.
Interestingly, HBO, too, has an exciting Stephen King TV adaptation lined up. While only time will tell how the show will turn out, it already seems to have immense potential and even comes off as a companion piece to a Stephen King show that is currently airing.
IT: Welcome To Derry Is A Great Next Watch After The Institute
It Will Have Many Similar Narrative & Thematic Elements
Stephen King’s It and The Institute do not take place in the same universe. Even if they do, the two books do not cross-reference one another and unfold more as self-contained stories. However, it is hard not to ignore how both Stephen King stories share many narrative parallels and thematic overlaps.
For instance, the main protagonists in both stories are children who start experiencing unimaginable horrors. While the ones in The Institute band together to fight against humans who abduct and torture them in the name of serving the greater good, the characters from It find themselves facing a malevolent ancient entity known as Pennywise.
Both stories also unfold in Stephen King’s fictional Maine, where the children suffer because of the indifference and cruelty of the adults around them. Most adult characters in The Institute run the titular facility that tortures and experiments on innocent children. Meanwhile, the ones in Stephen King’s It turn a blind eye towards the terrors plaguing Derry to maintain normalcy.
With so many intriguing similarities between the two, it would be fair to say that HBO’s upcoming show, It: Welcome to Derry, serves as the perfect spiritual successor to MGM+’s The Institute. Viewers who are enjoying MGM+’s take on the Stephen King novel will undoubtedly have a good time watching the upcoming HBO show as well.
IT: Welcome To Derry’s Release Is Coming At The Perfect Time
It Is Releasing One Month After The Institute Ends
The Institute started airing on MGM+ on July 13, 2025, with a weekly release format. It is scheduled to end its run with its eighth episode on August 24, 2025. If it gets renewed for another season, it will be a while before its next installment comes out. Fortunately, viewers will not have to wait long to see another compelling Stephen King adaptation hit the small screen.
It: Welcome to Derry serves as a prequel to the films It (2017) and It Chapter Two (2019).
It: Welcome to Derry is scheduled to land on HBO sometime in October 2025. This barely leaves a one-month gap between The Institute and the HBO show, allowing viewers to seamlessly jump from one Stephen King series to another. It: Welcome to Derry‘s release window also seems perfect because it perfectly carries the availability of new Stephen King TV shows into the fall/around Halloween.
