Stephen King's Series "The Institute" Coming to ZDF

September 2, 2026, 8:57 am | Read time: 2 minutes

Stephen King is the greatest horror writer of our time, whose works have been adapted for film and television numerous times. There seems to be no end in sight, and fans of the master can now look forward to another highlight. The series “The Institute,” based on one of the author’s more recent novels, will soon be available for free on ZDF.

ZDF to Air Stephen King’s “The Institute”

This is according to a brief press release from the broadcaster. ZDF will release “The Institute” online in the browser and app on September 24, 2026, at 10 a.m. All eight episodes will then be available for free streaming for a whole year.

Additionally, there will be a broadcast on linear television, essentially in a binge format. On Tuesday, October 6, ZDFneo will air all episodes back-to-back starting at 10:30 p.m. without commercial breaks. The final episode begins on October 7 at 4:20 a.m.–ideal for those on shift work, vacation, or with chronic insomnia.

Secretly Released and Overlooked

This is not the first streaming and TV home for “The Institute” in Germany. As “Filmstarts” explains, the series first appeared in the summer of 2025, but without any marketing effort. Compounding the issue was that it was only available on MGM+, a paid add-on channel within Amazon Prime Video, which led to it receiving little attention from series fans–unjustly so.

The title is well-received by those who have seen it. On Rotten Tomatoes, about 64 percent of all submitted reviews and 70 percent of all fan votes are positive. And Stephen King himself said on X that the series is “really good.” Although King is not necessarily a benchmark for good taste when it comes to adaptations of his own books. He famously hates Stanley Kubrick’s “The Shining”–widely regarded as one of the best horror films of all time.

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What is “The Institute” about? After his abduction, 14-year-old Luke finds himself in a secret complex where children with special psychic abilities are held. The administration exploits their powers for dangerous purposes. As Luke learns more about the facility, he teams up with other affected children to survive and uncover the truth behind the institute.

This article is a machine translation of the original German version of TECHBOOK and has been reviewed for accuracy and quality by a native speaker. For feedback, please contact us at info@techbook.de.