EXCLUSIVE: National Geographic is wading into one of psychology’s most debated studies from the past 50 years. The network has given a green light to The Stanford Prison Experiment: Unlocking The Truth (wt), a three-part docuseries from Juliette Eisner, Alex Braverman and Muck Media, the producers behind Nat Geo’s Emmy-nominated Trafficked: Underworlds with Mariana van Zeller.
Led by Stanford psychology professor Dr. Phillip Zimbardo, the six-day Stanford Prison Experiment was Zimbardo’s attempt to understand the power of situation over human behavior. In 1971, Zimbardo paid two dozen college-aged participants to live in a mock prison, observing how randomly assigned “prisoner” and “guard” roles influenced behavior. What started out as a self-contained university experiment turned into a media spectacle that captured the imagination and attention of the world, defining our understanding of human nature and forever changing the course of psychology.
The three-part series centers on the stories of the participants, many of whom are speaking out in detail for the first time. They are then brought to a replica film set of the “prison,” where they revisit pivotal moments, explore the power of perspective, and attempt to find consensus about what really happened over the course of those six days.
Additionally, the docuseries includes interviews with Zimbardo and his wife, Dr. Christina Maslach, who encouraged him to shut down the project, and looks at Zimbardo’s childhood, his motivations for beginning the project, and the notoriety he found in the aftermath.
“The Stanford Prison Experiment: Unlocking The Truth (wt) is an unprecedented documentary series that pushes the boundaries of storytelling while shedding new light on a pivotal moment in psychological history,” said Tom McDonald, EVP of Global Factual and Unscripted Content, National Geographic. “Through the voices of those who lived it, we, along with our longtime partners at Muck Media, invite audiences to reexamine the Stanford Prison Experiment and confront the truths that lie beneath the surface.”
The controversial experiment was the subject of the 2015 film The Stanford Prison Experiment, directed by Kyle Patrick Alvarez from a script by Tim Talbott, and starring Billy Crudup, Michael Angarano, Ezra Miller, Tye Sheridan, Keir Gilchrist, Olivia Thirlby, and Nelsan Ellis. It also was the subject of 2002 documentary The Stanford Prison Experiment, written, directed and produced by Kim Duke, which aired on BBC.
The Nat Geo docuseries is directed by Eisner and executive produced by Braverman and Eisner. For Muck Media, Darren Foster, Cristina Costantini, Jenn Wood and Krista Manis are executive producers. Josh Cole is executive producer for National Geographic.
