Beyond Scared Straight (2011)

Crime · Documentary · Reality-TV

Observing programs for troubled teens in which inmates reveal the realities of prison life in the hope of deterring them from a life of crime.

IMDb rating: 7.2 (1,343 votes)
Episode average: 6.5 -0.7 vs IMDb
Seasons: 9
Streaming (US): Hulu · Disney+
Language: EN
Type: TV series

Rating trend: this show's seasons do not settle into one shape. Rising Shows ranks whole shows by the shape of their rating trend rather than one average score, which is how you find a show that got better rather than a show that started well.

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Ratings refreshed Oct 3, 2026 · 9 seasons indexed

Seasons

Season 1 (2011)

6.81 avg 7 episodes 8.1 → 7.0 47 min avg

Front-loaded

Season 1 episodes - IMDb ratings
#	Title	Rating	Votes
1	Chowchilla	8.1	41
2	Jessup	7.3	25
3	Corcoran	6.3	20
4	Lieber	6.2	13
5	San Quentin	6.6	13
6	Hagerstown	6.2	11
7	Jessup Women's Prison, MD	7.0	12

Season 2 (2011)

6.31 avg 12 episodes 6.6 → 7.2 46 min avg

Season 2 episodes - IMDb ratings
#	Title	Rating	Votes
1	Mecklenburg County, N.C.	6.6	18
2	Oakland County, MI	6.1	12
3	Portsmouth County, VA	6.6	12
4	Oklahoma County, OK	6.2	12
5	San Bernardino County, CA - Boys	6.0	10
6	Richland County, SC	6.7	13
7	St. Clair County, IL	6.1	13
8	San Bernardino County, CA: Girls	5.9	10
9	Western Tidewater Regional Jail, Va.	6.1	12
10	Queen Anne's County, Md.	6.3	14
11	Oakland County, MI - Girls	5.9	12
12	Hampton Roads Regional Jail, VA	7.2	14

Season 3 (2012)

6.29 avg 17 episodes 6.3 → 7.3 47 min avg

Season 3 episodes - IMDb ratings
#	Title	Rating	Votes
1	Boston, MA : Girls	6.3	13
2	Jacksonville, FL	6.1	12
3	St. Clair County Jail, IL: The Return of Ice Mike	7.2	13
4	Hudson County Correctional Center, N.J.	6.0	11
5	Oklahoma County Jail, OK: The Return of Tiny	7.2	14
6	San Bernardino County Jail, CA: Parents and Sons	5.1	9
7	Lake County Detention Center, FL	6.0	9
8	Fulton County Jail, GA	5.8	8
9	Hampton County Regional Jail, VA: Teen Takedown	6.3	9
10	Richland County, SC: Girls	6.2	12
11	Oneida County, N.Y.	6.9	16
12	Oklahoma County, OK - Drama Queen	6.5	16
13	Floyd County Jail, GA	6.8	13
14	Portsmouth City Jail, VA: Taking the Rap	6.4	9
15	Western Tidewater Regional Jail, VA	5.4	10
16	Suffolk County, MA: Boys	5.4	7
17	Follow-Up Special	7.3	13

Season 4 (2013)

6.47 avg 9 episodes 6.5 → 7.2 44 min avg

Season 4 episodes - IMDb ratings
#	Title	Rating	Votes
1	Oneida County, NY: Girls	6.5	21
2	Floyd County, GA: Deputy Lyle Returns	6.1	14
3	Western Tidewater Regional Jail, VA: Big and Bad	6.2	11
4	Lake County, FL	6.1	17
5	Oakland County, MI: Family Matters	6.4	11
6	St. Clair County, IL: The Return of Hustle Man	7.1	17
7	Douglas County, GA	6.5	14
8	Hampton Roads, VA: Girls Fight Back	6.1	10
9	Richland County, SC: Truth or Consequences	7.2	13

Season 5 (2013)

6.41 avg 8 episodes 7.1 → 6.4 44 min avg

Season 5 episodes - IMDb ratings
#	Title	Rating	Votes
1	Albuquerque, NM: Dance, Bieber, Dance	7.1	19
2	Floyd County, GA: Snitches Get Stitches	6.5	13
3	Oklahoma County, OK: Insane and Chaos	6.3	12
4	Queen Anne's County, MD: Outside and Inside	6.1	12
5	Fulton County, GA	6.2	11
6	Charlotte County, FL	6.5	13
7	St. Clair County, IL: Rambo Behind Bars	6.2	12
8	Dougherty County, GA	6.4	13

Season 6 (2014)

6.61 avg 8 episodes 6.4 → 6.6 44 min avg

Season 6 episodes - IMDb ratings
#	Title	Rating	Votes
1	Western Tidewater, VA: Family Ties	6.4	11
2	Douglas County, GA: A Family's Loss	6.7	9
3	Chester County, SC: Roundtree Circle	6.4	10
4	St. Clair County, IL: Precious Time	6.4	12
5	Portsmouth County, VA: Without My Daddy	5.8	8
6	Oklahoma City, OK: Teen Father?	7.1	10
7	Dougherty County, GA: Song for Sandals	7.5	13
8	Fulton County, GA: My Father, the Inmate	6.6	9

Season 7 (2014)

6.60 avg 6 episodes 6.0 → 8.2 44 min avg

Season 7 episodes - IMDb ratings
#	Title	Rating	Votes
1	St. Clair County, IL: Bunk and Junk	6.0	8
2	Chester County, SC: Girls	5.5	10
3	San Bernardino, CA: Hold on Turbo	6.2	7
4	Hampton Roads, VA: Jailhouse Rap	7.1	9
5	Douglas County, GA: Judgement Day	6.6	9
6	Fulton County, GA: Blood Orange	8.2	13

Season 8 (2014)

6.26 avg 5 episodes 6.4 → 5.5 43 min avg

Bad finale

Season 8 episodes - IMDb ratings
#	Title	Rating	Votes
1	Oklahoma City, OK: Tears of a Clown	6.4	9
2	Western Tidewater, VA: Mother and Child Reunion	5.9	9
3	St. Clair County, Ill.: History of Violence	6.3	8
4	Fulton, GA: Facing Foxxxxy	7.2	10
5	Chester, SC: The Harder They Fall	5.5	8

Season 9 (2015)

6.55 avg 11 episodes 6.4 → 7.5 42 min avg

Season 9 episodes - IMDb ratings
#	Title	Rating	Votes
1	Fulton County, GA: Wasted Time	6.4	8
2	Floyd, GA: Dep. Lyle Lays Down the Law	6.8	10
3	Portsmouth, VA: Jail House Cookies	7.0	8
4	Chester, SC: Cornflake, Sandbag & Frozen	5.4	9
5	Dougherty County, GA: Weekend Worriers	6.7	8
6	Douglas, GA: Concrete & Steel	6.8	7
7	Richland County, SC: Final Jeopardy	6.8	8
8	Oklahoma City, OK: Uncle Inmate	6.3	8
9	St. Clair, IL: Lexi's Lockup Lash-Out	6.0	9
10	Douglas County, GA: Buttoning Buttons	6.4	7
11	Lights Out!	7.5	8