Paul Connolly goes behind the bars of some of the World’s most notorious prisons (the first season ran on Channel 5 UK originally before Netflix has bought up the format).
Table of Contents
#1 – Paraguay: The Most Dangerous Prison on Earth
Season 4 – Episode 1
Raphael Rowe spends a week behind bars at Tacumbu prison in Paraguay, where inmates scrounge in the trash in order to pay their own way.
The episode was rated from 28 votes.
#2 – Norway: The Perfect Prison?
Season 3 – Episode 4
Many prisons aim to punish and demean inmates. Norway’s Halden Prison — as Raphael Rowe is about to see for himself — does things differently.
The episode was rated from 24 votes.
#3 – Lesotho: Confronting Sexual Violence
Season 4 – Episode 4
An unnerved Rowe contends with aggressive cellmates at Maseru prison, where a high number of inmates are behind bars for rape.
The episode was rated from 20 votes.
#4 – Greenland: Prison in the Ice
Season 5 – Episode 3
Greenland’s Nuuk maximum security prison houses extremely dangerous prisoners, many of whom grew up alongside the guards now watching over them.
The episode was rated from 16 votes.
#5 – Mauritius: The Extreme Punishment Prison
Season 4 – Episode 3
The tropical Island of Mauritius is home to Melrose maximum security prison, where even the smallest infraction is met with extreme punishment.
The episode was rated from 22 votes.

#6 – Romania: Gypsy Prison
Season 3 – Episode 3
Raphael Rowe spends a week at a maximum security prison in Craiova, Romania, where the inmates include rapists, murderers and contract killers.
The episode was rated from 22 votes.
#7 – Colombia: Narco Prison
Season 3 – Episode 2
While spending a week inside Bogotá’s fortress-like prison, Raphael Rowe must negotiate the oppressive atmosphere and deal with an ominous threat.
The episode was rated from 23 votes.
#8 – Costa Rica: Prison on a Knife-Edge
Season 3 – Episode 1
Though he’s no stranger to life behind bars, Raphael Rowe concedes that Costa Rica’s La Reforma Prison is certainly among the most intimidating.
The episode was rated from 20 votes.
#9 – South Africa: The Number Gangs Prison
Season 5 – Episode 1
At Brandvlei Correctional Centre in South Africa, nearly all the convicts belong to dangerous gangs known for lethal stabbings.
The episode was rated from 19 votes.
#10 – Brazil: The Gang Prison
Season 2 – Episode 1
Investigative journalist Raphael Rowe spends a few days — both as a guard and a prisoner — inside Brazil’s gang-filled Porto Velho Penitentiary.
The episode was rated from 38 votes.