Russell Brand Netflix doc to launch days after sentencing

Russell Brand: Open Secret

Netflix will launch fast-turnaround documentary film Russell Brand: Open Secret tomorrow (November 13), just days after the comedian was sentenced to prison following his conviction for rape and sexual assault.

The 84-minute film follows Brand’s path from comic and film star to political activist and YouTuber, and then to his criminal trial.

On November 5, a London court found Brand guilty of one count of rape and three counts of sexual assault. He was found not guilty of two other counts of rape and one count of attempted indecent assault. He was subsequently sentenced to 10 years and six months in prison.

The documentary is directed by Olivia Isaacs and produced by 72 Films, a Fremantle-owned production company that also made Jimmy Savile: A British Horror Story for Netflix.

Netflix said Russell Brand: Open Secret features insiders’ voices and archival footage and examines Brand’s life and the investigation led by The Times and The Sunday Times. The newspapers’ reporting was spearheaded by chief media correspondent Rosamund Urwin and investigations correspondent Charlotte Wace.

Clare Cameron, David Glover and Mark Raphael are executive producers, with Kate Yandle, Laura Spence and Felicity Cross producing.

The newspapers’ investigation, which was published alongside a Channel 4 Dispatches programme in September 2023, led to a police inquiry and, in April 2025, to the first set of charges against Brand. He denied all charges, and further charges were later added.

In the wake of Brand’s conviction, and the subsequent allegations against TV personality David Walliams, which he denies, UK media and entertainment union Bectu has called on all creative industries employers to sign up to the standards and whistleblowing body for the UK’s creative sector, the Creative Industries Independent Standards Authority (CIISA).

Participation in CIISA is currently voluntary. The BBC reported today that UK culture secretary Lisa Nandy will tell a meeting of industry leaders next week that if their response to recent allegations is not robust enough, she is prepared to force participation in CIISA.