Netflix Unleashes New Shocking Game Inspired by 1971 Social Experiment After Squid Game Success!

Following the global phenomenon of Squid Game: The Challenge, Netflix is poised to take the concept of filmed social experiments to the next level! The streaming platform is now tackling a cult study known as the “Stanford Prison Experiment”. This new unscripted series will be directly inspired by this infamous and controversial study from the 20th century. And its concept is bound to provoke reaction!

Netflix Launches a Reality Show… in Prison!

Surprisingly, starting October 21, 2026, Netflix subscribers can watch the first season of The New Stanford Prison Experiment, which consists of six episodes lasting about 45 minutes each, as revealed by our colleagues at Variety. Similar to the reality show Squid Game: The Challenge, it will primarily be a game.

Thirty volunteers will be sent to jail, then split into two groups, guards and prisoners. Like the original experiment conducted by Philip Zimbardo in 1971, the aim is to discover and understand how these participants react to the (random) roles they are assigned.

The series is produced, among others, by Jane Lipsitz and Dan Cutforth, who have previously collaborated on Homicide. Regarding The New Stanford Prison Experiment project, Jane Lipsitz told reporters: “The Stanford experiment has always fascinated me (…) It raised a fundamental question that resonates even louder today: how does power influence ethical choices? Having the opportunity to reinvent this social experiment has been one of the most intense, exhilarating – and certainly thrilling – experiences we have had.”

A Series in the Vein of Squid Game: The Challenge

This isn’t the first time that the “Stanford Experiment” has been adapted. Ten years ago, a thriller directed by Kyle Patrick Alvarez and featuring actors Billy Crudup, Ezra Miller, and Michael Angarano focused on this study that attempts to explore the effects of incarceration on guards and prisoners. However, unlike the Netflix series, it was not a fiction.

Moreover, this isn’t the first time Netflix has offered subscribers a similar psychological experience. In 2023, the platform launched Squid Game: The Challenge, inspired by the Korean series phenomenon. Like in the fiction, 456 players must overcome challenges, strategize, and form alliances with one goal: to eliminate all other participants and walk away with $4.56 million. The clear distinction from the series: no violence is imposed on the participants. These programs are sure to provoke a reaction!

The reality show The New Stanford Prison Experiment is thus set to premiere on Netflix on October 21!