Netflix has announced a new reality television series titled The New Stanford Prison Experiment, set to premiere on October 21, 2026. The series, which will consist of six episodes each 45 minutes long, will feature 30 volunteers (men and women) confined in a real penitentiary for two weeks, filmed continuously by remote-controlled cameras. The series is described as a "modern reinvention" of the 1971 Stanford Prison Experiment, which involved 24 male students and ended after six days due to psychological mistreatment and uncontrolled sadism. Executive producer Jane Lipsitz claims the series will include "safeguards," 24/7 psychologists, and passwords to quit. However, the project has sparked controversy, with critics questioning the ethical implications of reenacting a study that has been widely criticized for its unethical practices. French researcher Thibault Le Texier's 2018 book Histoire d'un mensonge revealed that the guards in the original experiment had received instructions from psychologist Philip Zimbardo to be violent. Internet users have expressed concern over the project, with some questioning whether the series is exploiting ethical concerns for clicks. One user asked, "Are we really doing this or are we just pretending that ethics committees no longer exist for the sake of the algorithm?" Another user quipped, "The original was stopped after six days and Netflix responded: 'Hold my beer, we're going to make a bingeable thing.'" Clay Ramsay, a participant in the original experiment, expressed worry that the series could blur the line between entertainment and science. The production team has highlighted the inclusion of a mixed cast, psychological tests before entering the prison, and three experts: Alison Wood Brooks, a behavioral psychologist at Harvard, Trymaine Lee, a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, and Michael Cantrell, a former federal prison administration professional with nearly thirty years of experience. The series has drawn comparisons to a 2002 BBC production, The Experiment, where psychologists Alex Haslam and Steve Reicher replicated the Stanford study under the supervision of an ethics committee. In that study, the participants eventually banded together to obtain better conditions, contrary to the 1971 scenario. The outcome of The New Stanford Prison Experiment will be revealed when the six episodes are released on October 21.