Inside the World's Toughest Prisons poster

Inside the World's Toughest Prisons (2016)

Name: Inside the World's Toughest Prisons
Genre: Documentary
Rating: 7.2
Cast: Raphael Rowe

Documentary

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.

IMDb rating: 7.2 (4,435 votes)
Seasons: 7
Streaming (US): Netflix
Language: EN
Type: TV series

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Ratings refreshed Aug 19, 2026 · 7 seasons indexed

Cast

Raphael Rowe Himself

Seasons

Season 1 (2016)

6.83 avg 4 episodes 6.7 → 6.8

Season 1 episodes - IMDb ratings
#	Title	Rating	Votes
1	Danli Prison, Honduras	6.7	253
2	Piotrkow Prison, Poland	6.9	197
3	Mexico	6.9	175
4	Philippines	6.8	180

Season 2 (2018)

7.23 avg 4 episodes 7.2 → 7.0

Season 2 episodes - IMDb ratings
#	Title	Rating	Votes
1	Brazil: The Gang Prison	7.2	191
2	Ukraine: The Prison in a War Zone	7.5	198
3	Papua New Guinea: The Breakout Prison	7.2	163
4	Belize: The Prison That Found God	7.0	147

Season 3 (2018)

7.35 avg 4 episodes 7.2 → 8.0

Big finale

Season 3 episodes - IMDb ratings
#	Title	Rating	Votes
1	Costa Rica: Prison on a Knife-Edge	7.2	148
2	Colombia: Narco Prison	7.2	144
3	Romania: Gypsy Prison	7.0	151
4	Norway: The Perfect Prison?	8.0	196

Season 4 (2020)

7.38 avg 4 episodes 7.8 → 7.4

U-shaped

Season 4 episodes - IMDb ratings
#	Title	Rating	Votes
1	Paraguay: The Most Dangerous Prison on Earth	7.8	173
2	Germany: The Therapy Prison	7.1	135
3	Mauritius: The Extreme Punishment Prison	7.2	126
4	Lesotho: Confronting Sexual Violence	7.4	134

Season 5 (2021)

7.40 avg 3 episodes 7.4 → 7.6

Season 5 episodes - IMDb ratings
#	Title	Rating	Votes
1	South Africa: The Number Gangs Prison	7.4	132
2	Philippines: The War on Drugs Prison	7.2	115
3	Greenland: Prison in the Ice	7.6	132

Season 6 (2022)

7.35 avg 4 episodes 7.4 → 6.8

Bad finale

Season 6 episodes - IMDb ratings
#	Title	Rating	Votes
1	Moldova: The Lifers Prison	7.4	109
2	Cyprus: The Utopian Prison	7.6	98
3	Bosnia: The Mafia Prison	7.6	95
4	Greece: The People Smugglers Prison	6.8	84

Season 7 (2023)

7.23 avg 4 episodes 7.4 → 7.2

Season 7 episodes - IMDb ratings
#	Title	Rating	Votes
1	Finland: The Free Choice Prison	7.4	84
2	Czech Republic: The Crystal Meth Prison	7.3	64
3	Indonesia: The re-programming Drug Prison	7.0	61
4	Solomon Islands: God's Own Prison	7.2	64