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TV series

Inside the World's Toughest Prisons

Latest episode

S7 E4 · Solomon Islands: God’s Own Prison

About Inside the World's Toughest Prisons

Inside the World's Toughest Prisons is a crime and documentary TV series that premiered on Netflix on April 20, 2016. It has 7 seasons and 27 episodes so far and is still airing new episodes. The latest episode, Season 7 Episode 4 "Solomon Islands: God’s Own Prison", aired on September 15, 2023.

Crime journalist Raphael Rowe goes behind the bars of some of the world’s most notorious and toughest prisons. Immersing himself in maximum security facilities around the world to live as a prisoner, he encounters the inmates locked up for their crimes and meets the men and women on the right side of law tasked with keeping the criminals behind bars.

  • Crime
  • Documentary

Last updated

Episodes

27 episodes · 7 seasons

Season 1

2016 · 4 episodes · Last episode: 10 years ago

Paul Connolly journeys inside deplorable prisons in Poland, Mexico, Honduras and the Philippines to experience their barbaric conditions first hand.

Inside the World's Toughest Prisons Season 1 release dates →
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    4. Philippines

    Finale

    Connolly spends time in two different prisons in the Philippines, where overcrowding, gangs and severe intimidation are a way of life.

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    3. Mexico

    Mexico's el Hongo prison is home to murderers, hitmen, drug bossess and -- for one week -- Paul Connolly, who experiences life among the inmates.

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    2. Poland

    Connolly serves time in Poland's Piotrkow prison, a maximun security lockup where the country's most hardened criminals stay in cells 23 hours a day.

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    1. Honduras

    Paul Connolly heads to Honduras, the murder capital of the world, to spend a week living as a prisoner inside one of the most dangerous prisons - Danli Prison.

Season 2

2018 · 4 episodes · Last episode: 8 years ago

Raphael Rowe, who spent 12 years behind bars for a crime he didn't commit, investigates some of the world's toughest prisons from the inside.

Inside the World's Toughest Prisons Season 2 release dates →
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    4. Belize: The Prison That Found God

    Finale

    In Belize Central Prison, the inmates are told that rehabilitation comes through God. Raphael Rowe investigates if this evangelical approach works.

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    3. Papua New Guinea: The Breakout Prison

    Raphael Rowe visits the short-staffed Bomana Prison in Papua New Guinea, where near-constant food shortages keep the facility on the brink of chaos.

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    2. Ukraine: The Prison in a War Zone

    Ukraine's Zhytomyr Prison is operated with a skeleton crew that allows prisoners to freely roam the grounds -- often with potentially dangerous weapons.

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    1. Brazil: The Gang Prison

    Investigative journalist Raphael Rowe spends a few days -- both as a guard and a prisoner -- inside Brazil's gang-filled Porto Velho Penitentiary.

Season 3

2018 · 4 episodes · Last episode: 7 years ago

Investigative journalist Raphael Rowe, who was once wrongfully convicted of murder, visits prisons in Colombia, Costa Rica, Romania and Norway.

Inside the World's Toughest Prisons Season 3 release dates →
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    4. Norway: The Perfect Prison?

    Finale

    Many prisons aim to punish and demean inmates. Norway's Halden Prison -- as Raphael Rowe is about to see for himself -- does things differently.

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    3. Romania: Gypsy Prison

    Raphael Rowe spends a week at a maximum security prison in Craiova, Romania, where the inmates include rapists, murderers and contract killers.

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    2. Colombia: Narco Prison

    While spending a week inside Bogotá's fortress-like prison, Raphael Rowe must negotiate the oppressive atmosphere and deal with an ominous threat.

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    1. Costa Rica: Prison on a Knife-Edge

    Though he's no stranger to life behind bars, Raphael Rowe concedes that Costa Rica's La Reforma Prison is certainly among the most intimidating.

Season 4

2020 · 4 episodes · Last episode: 6 years ago

Journalist Raphael Rowe lives like an inmate while investigating dangerous prisons in Paraguay, Germany, Mauritius and Lesotho.

Inside the World's Toughest Prisons Season 4 release dates →
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    4. Lesotho: Confronting Sexual Violence

    Finale

    An unnerved Rowe contends with aggressive cellmates at Maseru prison, where a high number of inmates are behind bars for rape.

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    3. Mauritius: The Extreme Punishment Prison

    The tropical island of Mauritius is home to Melrose maximum security prison, where even the smallest infraction is met with extreme punishment.

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    2. Germany: The Therapy Prison

    Schwalmstadt, a 12th-century fortress surrounded by a moat, houses some of Germany's worst offenders, many of whom attend intense therapy sessions.

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    1. Paraguay: The Most Dangerous Prison on Earth

    Raphael Rowe spends a week behind bars at Tacumbu prison in Paraguay, where inmates scrounge in the trash in order to pay their own way.

Season 5

2021 · 3 episodes · Last episode: 5 years ago

Raphael Rowe, who spent years in prison for a crime he didn't commit, volunteers to go behind bars in the Philippines, Greenland and South Africa.

Inside the World's Toughest Prisons Season 5 release dates →
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    3. Greenland: Prison in the Ice

    Finale

    Greenland's Nuuk maximum security prison houses extremely dangerous prisoners, many of whom grew up alongside the guards now watching over them.

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    2. Philippines: The War on Drugs Prison

    Once again, Raphael Rowe volunteers to go behind bars, this time in the Philippines at Manila City Jail, one of the world's most overcrowded prisons.

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    1. South Africa: The Number Gangs Prison

    At Brandvlei Correctional Centre in South Africa, nearly all the convicts belong to dangerous gangs known for lethal stabbings.

Season 6

2022 · 4 episodes · Last episode: 4 years ago

Wrongfully convicted former inmate Raphael Rowe continues his investigation of formidable prisons in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Cyprus, Greece and Moldova.

Inside the World's Toughest Prisons Season 6 release dates →
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    4. Greece: The People Smugglers Prison

    Finale
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    3. Bosnia: The Mafia Prison

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    2. Cyprus: The Utopian Prison

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    1. Moldova: The Lifers Prison

Season 7

2023 · 4 episodes · Last episode: 3 years ago

Journalist and former inmate Raphael Rowe experiences life inside prisons in Finland, the Czech Republic, Indonesia and the Solomon Islands.

Inside the World's Toughest Prisons Season 7 release dates →
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    4. Solomon Islands: God’s Own Prison

    At the Rove maximum security prison, many of the inmates serve time for sexual offenses while navigating grim conditions and extremely limited resources.

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    3. Indonesia: The re-programming drug prison

    Raphael gets a rare look inside Bangli prison, where drug offenders are forced to join a rehabilitation program and isolation is used as punishment.

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    2. Czech Republic: The Crystal Meth Prison

    Surrounded by many inmates who struggle with crystal meth addiction, Raphael enters the Pilsen prison and discovers that some habits are hard to break.

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    1. Finland: The Free Choice Prison

    At Finland's Kylmäkoski prison, Raphael meets violent offenders in the general population wing and bonds with the inmates, while a newcomer is attacked.

Inside the World's Toughest Prisons FAQ

When is the next episode of Inside the World's Toughest Prisons?

A date for the next episode of Inside the World's Toughest Prisons hasn't been announced yet. Follow Inside the World's Toughest Prisons in the Streambay app and you'll be notified as soon as a new episode airs.

When did the latest episode of Inside the World's Toughest Prisons come out?

The most recent episode of Inside the World's Toughest Prisons, Season 7 Episode 4 "Solomon Islands: God’s Own Prison", aired on September 15, 2023.

How many seasons of Inside the World's Toughest Prisons are there?

Inside the World's Toughest Prisons has 7 seasons with 27 episodes in total.

When did Inside the World's Toughest Prisons first air?

Inside the World's Toughest Prisons first aired on Netflix on April 20, 2016.

How do I get notified when new episodes of Inside the World's Toughest Prisons are released?

Download the Streambay app, follow Inside the World's Toughest Prisons, and you'll get a push notification the moment each new episode is released.

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