Netflix's provocative prison series, Unlocked: A Jail Experiment, has returned for a highly anticipated second season, reigniting debate about the authenticity of its televised social study.
What is Unlocked: A Jail Experiment Season 2 About?
The new series, released on 9 January 2026, moves the experiment from an Arkansas jail to the Pinal County Correctional Facility in Arizona. The show follows real inmates, including Ronald Dunmire (known as AO), Elwood Murphy (called Woody), and Ronald Stricklett (who goes by Irish), as they are granted unprecedented freedom.
County Sheriff Ross Teeple initiates a six-week trial where prisoners can roam seemingly unsupervised and create their own rules. He suggests that conflicts inside are often driven by 'politics', particularly racial tensions, which the experiment aims to address.
Is the Netflix Show Truly Unscripted and Unsupervised?
Netflix bills the series as an unscripted documentary, meaning the interactions and conflicts between inmates are genuine events captured as they happened. However, the notion of complete inmate autonomy is somewhat exaggerated.
Pulaski County Sheriff Eric Higgins, who designed the original experiment, clarified to Netflix's Tudum that the Arizona facility was never entirely without staff oversight. "Pulaski County Regional Detention Center is a direct supervision facility, which means the deputies are inside the unit with detainees," he stated, implying similar protocols likely applied in season two.
While correctional officers were not stationed directly inside the housing units, all participants were closely monitored via CCTV cameras and secure access points. Furthermore, inmates received comprehensive briefings before filming began, outlining behavioural expectations and confirming their participation was voluntary.
Heightened Drama and Lasting Questions
Sheriff Higgins elaborated on the process: "We didn't automatically open the doors. We talked to them about the possibilities, and about behaviour. We gave them a list of responsibilities and made personnel available to them to ask more detailed questions."
The second season promises intensified drama with tougher regulations and fierce existing tensions, ensuring its return will spark significant public interest and ethical debate about prison reform and reality television.
Unlocked: A Jail Experiment season two is available to stream globally on Netflix.
