How 3 Ongoing Stephen King Shows Quietly Connect to the Dark Tower
Three shows share clues
Stephen King’s television adaptations have gained momentum with The Institute, It: Welcome to Derry and Mike Flanagan’s Carrie. The Institute is set to return for another season on November 8, 2026, while It: Welcome to Derry shattered streaming records and earned critical acclaim.
The shows also include details that connect with The Dark Tower’s world. In the novels, the Crimson King abducts people with psychic abilities, known as Breakers, and uses their powers against the Beams that support the Towers.
The Institute and gifted people
The Institute follows a shadow organization that abducts children with telepathic and telekinetic abilities. It experiments on them and forces them to use their powers to influence events.
The shared focus on organizations exploiting gifted people has led to theories that The Institute takes place in The Dark Tower universe. The show, however, is expected to remain grounded in a more self-contained story.
Carrie and Derry’s lore
The wider King universe treats telepathy, telekinesis, clairvoyance and precognition as forms of the Shine. Flanagan’s Carrie also references The Shining, while The Dark Tower lore links volatile Shine users to the Can-toi, also called Low Men, who target potential Breakers.
It: Welcome to Derry features Dick Hallorann, who has the Shine, and references Maturin and Pennywise’s Deadlights in connection with Todash space. The Ritual of Chüd, used in efforts to contain Pennywise, also draws on ideas tied to Mind-Speech and the White.
Building interest in the Tower
Because the three series stream on different platforms, a shared on-screen universe appears unlikely. Carrie and It: Welcome to Derry may explore their broader King connections in future seasons, while The Institute is likely to keep its story more contained.
The shows’ success demonstrates that King’s work can find an audience on television and may build anticipation for Flanagan’s planned Dark Tower adaptation. The series is still some time away.
Key points
- The Institute, Carrie and It: Welcome to Derry include subtle Dark Tower connections.
- The Institute features children whose psychic abilities are exploited by an organization.
- Carrie and It: Welcome to Derry draw on concepts tied to the Shine and King’s wider lore.
- The shows’ success could increase interest in Mike Flanagan’s Dark Tower adaptation.