Netflix is launching a new unscripted series inspired by the controversial Stanford Prison Experiment, with the show set to premiere on October 21.
Titled “The New Stanford Prison Experiment,” the series will consist of six 45-minute episodes and will revisit questions about power, authority, morality and human behavior.
The show will place 30 willing participants inside a real prison, where they will be randomly assigned roles as either guards or prisoners. Participants will then navigate a controlled environment built around hierarchy and power.
According to Netflix’s synopsis, the experiment will explore whether ordinary people naturally conform to the roles they are given or whether empathy, morality and individuality can withstand the pressures created by the system. At the center of the series is a familiar question: does power corrupt?
The project is produced by Alfred Street Industries, with Jane Lipsitz, Dan Cutforth, Nan Strait, Dan Volpe, Jeff Grogan and Mike Odair serving as executive producers.
Lipsitz said the original Stanford Prison Experiment had long fascinated her despite its serious ethical problems, particularly because of the questions it raised about how power can influence ethical decisions.
The original experiment was conducted at Stanford University in 1971 under psychology professor Philip Zimbardo. Participants were randomly assigned to act as guards or prisoners in a simulated prison environment.
Although the experiment was originally scheduled to last two weeks, it was terminated after less than a week amid abusive behavior and serious ethical concerns. It later became one of psychology’s most famous and controversial experiments and contributed to broader discussions about protections for human research participants.
Netflix’s new series will revisit the concept more than five decades later through a modern unscripted format.