Are The Institute and Firestarter’s The Shop the same? Stephen King’s sinister universe explored in depth

The Institute is a supernatural horror series based on the 2019 novel of the same name by Stephen King and features Ben Barnes, Joe Freeman, and others. The show’s central premise is about a teenager who finds himself in a place where children possess supernatural powers and must uncover the dark secrets of the institute that experiments upon these children.

Therefore, the show deals with an evil organization at the center of its story, and the new sci-fi TV adaptation of Stephen King’s work has drawn parallels with a 45-year-old novel by the same author, which also features a shadowy organization. The book is known as Firestarter, and according to Screen Rant, while the organizations in both the book and the show have different names, there are some similarities in terms of motives, inhumane methods, illegal experiments, and more.

The similarities between The Institute’s titular organization and Firestarter’s The Shop

In the show and in the book, a central organization is introduced that works outside the public eye. Both the organizations, The Institute and The Shop, conduct human experiments and can go to extreme lengths to achieve their aims.

In Firestarter, humans captured by The Shop are injected with a substance called Lot Six, which unlocks psychic abilities of a person. It was created by Dr. Wanless. In The Institute, the organization also uses an unnamed drug on the children and uses it to enhance their telekinesis. Even here, the compound is created by Dr. Hendricks.

In both the show and the book, the organizations’ experiments lead to disaster as many characters in Firestarter die after taking Lot 6, and many children in The Institute become violent and uncontrollable. Both organizations are located in hidden places, and both authorities state they are working for the greater good. Ultimately, both these evil organizations have to be uncovered and stopped.

Are The Institute and The Shop connected in Stephen King’s universe?

The show and the book are separate stories, and Stephen King maintains that there is no explicit connection between the two. Therefore, both the organizations shown in the series and the book are not connected to each other. Stephen King also makes sure that both stories remain separate as he creates different characters for each of them. However, according to Screen Rant, many viewers feel that both stories happen in the same universe.

While it is true that the author has created two projects that focus on the central premise of an evil organization experimenting upon people, he has never mentioned that the two are related. Therefore, the show and the book are not connected, though their evil organizations are similar.

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The show is available one Amazon Prime Video.

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