Inside ‘The New Stanford Prison Experiment,’ Netflix’s Controversial Reality Series: ‘People Are Going to Have Very Strong Feelings’ (EXCLUSIVE)

Netflix is launching “The New Stanford Prison Experiment” on 21 October, revisiting the question of whether power corrupts through a two-week simulated prison study. Executive producers Jane Lipsitz and Dan Cutforth describe it as an attempt to explore the question with stronger safeguards, while acknowledging the original experiment’s ethical failures and the risks of repeating it.

The 1971 Stanford study involved 24 male students assigned as guards or prisoners, but was stopped after six days as punishments escalated and some participants suffered mental breakdowns. Netflix’s version uses 30 people from varied backgrounds, including three women, at a decommissioned section of a working prison in Georgia; eight are guards and 22 prisoners. Organisers say they used psychological screening, informed consent, round-the-clock medical and psychological support, a safe word, and remote cameras to reduce risks and avoid influencing participants.