Netflix picks up Emporium’s World’s Toughest Prisons

Netflix has ordered Emporium Productions Inside the World’s Toughest Prisons, due to premiere this month.

The factual series follows ex-prisoner and journalist Raphael Rowe as he immerses himself in prison activity at a range of locations. His journey takes him to Brazil, Papua New Guinea, Ukraine and Belize, where he discovers a world of extreme punishment, squalor and murderous gang warfare.

Commissioned by Netflix’s Olivia LaRoche, the series is executive produced by Emma Read and Gabe Solomon for Emporium.

Read said: “We have had an exciting adventure making the series with Netflix which played to Emporium’s strength in access driven documentaries as we worked with governments around the world persuading them to open the gates of their maximum security prisons to viewers. The series reveals the unique attitudes to prisoners in different countries and cultures and the varied ways we balance human rights and public security.”