Netflix Puts 30 Strangers in Prison to Discover Whether Power Corrupts
Netflix revisits the infamous Stanford Prison Experiment in a new reality series where 30 volunteers become guards and prisoners, testing power and authority.
Netflix has released a controversial new reality series that places 30 ordinary people inside a real prison to discover what happens when some are given complete authority over others.
The New Stanford Prison Experiment, which arrived on the streaming platform on 21 October 2026, revisits one of psychology’s most notorious experiments more than 50 years after the original study was abandoned amid serious concerns about the treatment of its participants.
Across six episodes, volunteers are divided into prisoners and guards, with tensions emerging as both groups begin testing the boundaries of their new roles.
Watch the trailer:
What happens inside the Netflix prison?
The experiment takes place in a section of a functioning correctional facility in Georgia, where 22 participants become prisoners while eight take on the role of guards.
The guards are responsible for maintaining order, while those playing prisoners must adjust to a restrictive environment where their everyday freedoms are removed.
As the experiment progresses, disagreements develop over authority, discipline and how the prisoners should be treated. Different approaches among the guards also create opportunities for prisoners to challenge the rules.
The series follows these confrontations while examining whether ordinary people can resist the pressures associated with positions of power.
Why was the original experiment so controversial?
The original Stanford Prison Experiment took place in California in 1971 under psychologist Philip Zimbardo.
College students were randomly assigned to act as prisoners or guards in a simulated prison environment. Although the research was intended to last up to two weeks, it was stopped after just six days as participants experienced psychological distress and degrading treatment.
The study subsequently became notorious, with its ethical failings and scientific conclusions facing considerable criticism.
Netflix’s new production attempts to revisit similar questions while introducing safeguards that were absent from the original.
How does Netflix protect the participants?
The production introduced psychological screening, continuous expert monitoring and support available around the clock.
Participants could withdraw whenever they wished, using a designated safe word to leave the experiment. Filming also relied on remotely operated cameras to reduce direct contact between the production team and volunteers.
Nevertheless, the decision to recreate such a controversial study as reality entertainment has already divided television critics, with questions raised about whether participants behave naturally when they know they are being filmed.
Where can you watch The New Stanford Prison Experiment?
All six episodes of The New Stanford Prison Experiment are available to stream on Netflix in the UK.
The series combines reality television with questions about human behaviour, asking viewers to consider how easily power, authority and group pressure can influence people’s decisions.
