Inside the World's Toughest Prisons

Overview

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.

Status

Returning Series

Seasons

7 seasons

Episodes

27 episodes

First aired

Apr 20, 2016

Last aired

Sep 15, 2023

Episode length

44m

Networks

5, Netflix

1. 

   Season 1

   4 episodes Apr 20, 2016 ★ 7.3

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

2. 

   Season 2

   4 episodes Jul 6, 2018 ★ 7.0

   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.

3. 

   Season 3

   4 episodes Dec 14, 2018 ★ 7.0

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

4. 

   Season 4

   4 episodes Jul 29, 2020 ★ 7.3

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

5. 

   Season 5

   3 episodes Jan 8, 2021 ★ 10.0

   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.

6. 

   Season 6

   4 episodes Sep 28, 2022 ★ 9.4

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

7. 

   Season 7

   4 episodes Sep 15, 2023 ★ 8.0

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