Six Days Will Last a Lifetime - National Geographic Debuts Trailer for the Stanford Prison Experiment: Unlocking the Truth

(WASHINGTON, D.C. – Oct. 22, 2024) National Geographic today revealed the trailer for THE STANFORD PRISON EXPERIMENT: UNLOCKING THE TRUTH, slated for Wednesday, Nov. 13, at 8/7c on National Geographic and streaming next day on Disney+ and Hulu. The three-part docuseries comes from director Juliette Eisner, executive producer Alex Braverman and award-winning production company Muck Media, which recently won five News & Documentary Emmy® Awards for “Trafficked with Mariana van Zeller” and one News & Documentary Emmy Award for “Science Fair: The Series.” THE STANFORD PRISON EXPERIMENT: UNLOCKING THE TRUTH, which premiered at this year’s Tribeca Film Festival, is an unprecedented look at one of history’s most infamous psychology studies through the firsthand accounts of the original “guards” and “prisoners,” many of whom are speaking on camera for the very first time. Their stories unravel a new narrative that interrogates the motives of the man in charge, Dr. Philip Zimbardo, while exploring larger questions of human nature and the power of perspective.

What started out as a self-contained university experiment turned into a media spectacle that captured the imagination and attention of the world, shaping our understanding of human nature and forever changing the field of psychology.

There was only one problem: The story of what happened during the experiment was shared with the world by only one person. Today, most of the participants have gone on record to tell … the whole story.

“In the fifty years since the Stanford Prison Experiment took place, I was surprised to learn that few of the study’s participants had ever spoken about their experiences, and that their stories exposed a web of secrets, inconsistencies, and layers that questioned the experiment’s seemingly simple narrative about whether human beings are inherently good or evil,” said Director Juliette Eisner.  “In light of Dr. Zimbardo’s recent passing, this project couldn’t be more timely in its exploration of human nature and the repercussions of differing narratives.”

Through unparalleled access, THE STANFORD PRISON EXPERIMENT: UNLOCKING THE TRUTH embarks on a gripping, ticking-clock journey through the six-day Stanford Prison Experiment with a deluge of reveals, new subjects and a smoking-gun archive. The docuseries weaves together shocking, poignant and sometimes humorous firsthand accounts from the very participants who were at the heart of the experiment. Then, in an unexpected turn, the series brings the participants to a replica film set of the “prison,” where they revisit pivotal moments and attempt to find consensus — and closure — about what really happened over the course of those six days.

In one of his final interviews, the late Dr. Zimbardo, along with his wife, Dr. Christina Maslach, sit down to discuss their own experience. The series offers an unflinching look at Zimbardo’s childhood, his motivations for beginning the project, and the notoriety he found in the aftermath.

Episodes of the three-part series include the following:

• “THE HALLWAY”

Premieres Wednesday, Nov. 13, at 8/7c on National Geographic; streams next day on Disney+ and Hulu
Introducing one of history’s most notorious psychological experiments — but with a twist. The study’s prisoner and guard participants take a seat in front of the camera to reveal never-before-heard details of an event that has shaped our understanding of human nature and good versus evil for the past 50 years. Together, they track the key events that took place over the six fateful days in 1971.

• “THE UNRAVELING”

Premieres Wednesday, Nov. 13, at 9/8c on National Geographic; streams next day on Disney+ and Hulu
What if we told you the Stanford Prison Experiment is not what it seems? The participants reveal new perspectives surrounding what happened in the fateful hallway, putting to question Dr. Zimbardo’s long-held claims. With the help of an intrepid French researcher, we learn that the 50-year-old story is riddled with apparent inconsistencies. Meanwhile, the filmmakers expose their own storytelling devices.

• “A BEAUTIFUL LIE”

Premieres Wednesday, Nov. 13, at 10/9c on National Geographic; streams next day on Disney+ and Hulu
In a pivotal interview, Dr. Zimbardo takes a seat in front of the camera and defends his notorious experiment and its lessons. Meanwhile, an unexpected and exciting reunion takes place that exposes new layers of the story. This isn’t a tale about an experiment debunked but rather one about the power of perspective and mythmaking.

THE STANFORD PRISON EXPERIMENT: UNLOCKING THE TRUTH is directed by Juliette Eisner and executive produced by Alex Braverman and Juliette Eisner. For Muck Media, Darren Foster, Cristina Costantini, Jennifer Wood and Krista Manis are executive producers. For National Geographic, Josh Cole is executive producer, Bengt Anderson is senior vice president of Unscripted Content, and Tom McDonald is executive vice president of Global Factual and Unscripted Content.

About National Geographic Content
Award-winning and critically acclaimed National Geographic Content, part of a joint venture between The Walt Disney Company and the National Geographic Society, creates and delivers riveting stories and experiences in natural history, science, adventure and exploration. The brand is the largest on social media with over three quarters of a billion followers across all major platforms that generate over one billion impressions each month. Inspiring a deeper connection to the world, National Geographic Content reaches 300 million people worldwide in 180 countries and 33 languages as a digital, social and print publisher and across the global National Geographic channels (National Geographic Channel, Nat Geo WILD, Nat Geo MUNDO), National Geographic Documentary Films, and direct-to-consumer platforms Disney+ and Hulu. For more information, visit natgeotv.com or nationalgeographic.com, or follow Nat Geo on Facebook, X, Instagram, YouTube and LinkedIn.

About Muck Media
MUCK MEDIA is an Emmy, Peabody and duPont Award-winning production company concentrating on quality storytelling that is often journalistic and always compelling. Muck is the production company behind National Geographic’s multi-Emmy-winning series Trafficked with Mariana van Zeller about global black markets; 2024 Emmy-winner Science Fair: The Series inspired by the Sundance Festival Favorite and Emmy-winning feature documentary; and the forthcoming documentary Sally, about the life of Sally Ride, the first American woman in space.

Other recent Muck credits include the 2024 SXSW Grand Jury winner We Can Be Heroes, about a group of neurodivergent, queer, and self-proclaimed “nerdy” teenagers who find solace at a LARP summer camp; the critically acclaimed feature American Pain (Max) about the rise and fall of twin brothers from Florida who ran the biggest prescription opioid trafficking network in US history; Menudo: Forever Young (Max) which chronicles the fame and tragedy of the most iconic Latin American boy band in history; and Open Wide (Netflix/A24), which follows a fringe orthodontist whose theories have found a passionate audience online.

MEDIA CONTACTS:
Kate Squier
Kate.Squier@natgeo.com

Nadia Aziz
Nadia.Aziz@natgeo.com