Disney’s Nat Geo orders docuseries examining Stanford prison experiment

Dr Philip Zimbardo conducted the infamous Stanford Prison Experiment in 1971

Disney-owned factual cablenet National Geographic has ordered a three-part docuseries examining an infamous human behaviour experiment conducted in Stanford prison in 1971.

The Stanford Prison Experiment: Unlocking the Truth (working title) is produced by Muck Media and exec produced by Alex Braverman and director Juliette Eisner.

The docuseries aims to shed new light on Dr Philip Zimbardo’s quest to understand more about the power of situation over human behaviour. In 1971, Zimbardo paid two dozen college-aged participants to live in a mock prison and observed how randomly assigned ‘prisoner’ and ‘guard’ roles would affect their behaviour. The resulting six-day experiment changed the course of psychology and caught the attention of the world’s media.

Darren Foster, Cristina Costantini, Jenn Wood and Krista Manis are executive producing for Muck Media, which is behind docuseries including Trafficked with Mariana van Zeller and Science Fair: The Series.

National Geographic’s exec VP of global factual and unscripted content Tom McDonald called the project an “unprecedented documentary series that pushes the boundaries of storytelling while shedding new light on a pivotal moment in psychological history.”