Netflix to produce new series based on Stanford Prison Experiment

Netflix has commissioned a new unscripted reality series titled ‘The New Stanford Prison Experiment’. The project is a contemporary reimagining of the notorious 1971 psychological study led by Philip Zimbardo.

The first season will consist of six 45-minute episodes. According to the series synopsis, thirty volunteers will enter a real prison and be randomly assigned roles as either guards or prisoners. The show aims to observe how participants react to a system of power, hierarchy, and control, specifically testing whether individuals conform to assigned roles or if empathy and morality can resist such pressures.

The original experiment was halted after only six days due to the psychological and physical abuse of participants by those assigned as guards, leading to much stricter ethical regulations for human research. The new series is produced by Alfred Street Industries, with Jane Lipsitz, Dan Cutforth, Nan Strait, Dan Volpe, Jeff Grogan, and Mike Odair serving as executive producers.