One of the hidden gems of the Netflix Original documentary lineup is returning for another outing. Season 5 of Inside The World’s Toughest Prisons arrives on Netflix globally in January 2021.
Starting its life on British television station Channel 5 before changing hosts and commissioned for Netflix from season 2 onwards, the series follows renowned journalist Raphael Rowe who visits and endures the toughest conditions in prisons around the world.
Rowe is familiar with the prison system having been wrongfully convicted of the M25 Three murder.
The docu-series last saw a December release two years ago when season 3, considered to be one of the best seasons dropped on December 14th. Season 2 was added to Netflix in July 2018 and season 4 in July 2020.
In seasons so far, we’ve visited prisons around the world including Paraguay, Costa Rica, Brazil, Ukraine, Belize, Mexico, and Poland. There’s also been a few stops at prisons where you could argue they’re some of the world’s best prisons but nevertheless holds dangerous individuals including Germany and Norway.
Now, a new season, likely to once again consist of 4 episodes (but could be 3 based on the countries listed in the trailer) is due out on Netflix globally on January 8th, 2021.
Season 5 – Inside The World’s Toughest Prisons out 8th January 2021 on Netflix! pic.twitter.com/k6M5bPoPkh
— Raphael Rowe (@raphaelrowe) December 11, 2020
In the trailer, you can see Raphael Rowe visiting new locations including the Philippines, Greenland, and South Africa.
If you can’t wait to get more of Inside The World’s Toughest Prisons, Raphel Rowe also currently hosts a podcast (available on most podcast apps) called Second Chance. The podcast series, now up to 16 episodes, takes a look at various topics surrounding the prison system and larger political issues too.
Will there be a season 6 of Inside the World’s Toughest Prisons?
We rarely hear of work on these series ahead of time instead getting release dates roughly a month before they drop. If we were assuming there will be a season 6, we’d guess a new season could come in the summer of 2021 although filming could’ve been disrupted due to COVID-19. That’s all speculation at this point, however.
Are you looking forward to more episodes of Inside the World’s Toughest Prisons coming to Netflix? Let us know in the comments.