Behind Bars: The World's Toughest Prisons: Story, Cast and Series Facts

Story and premise

Imagine prisons so tough that even the hardest gang bosses and murderers learn the meaning of fear. This extraordinary series offers intimate portraits of crime and punishment set within the gates, walls, barred windows, and cells of the world's toughest maximum-security prisons. From Bolivia to Bulgaria, Dallas to Arizona, viewers meet hardened criminals with stories that shake them to the core.

Series details

• Title: Behind Bars: The World's Toughest Prisons
• Format: Reality
• Language: English
• Premiere date: 2016-06-16
• Final broadcast date listed: 2024-03-17
• Status in TVmaze: Ended
• Network listed by TVmaze: Discovery
• Network country: United States
• Typical episode runtime: 45 minutes
• TVMaze ID: 69500
• IMDb ID: tt15576176
• TVDB ID: 320189

Seasons in the TVmaze catalogue

• Season 1: premiered 2016-05-16; final listed air date 2016-05-16; episode order: 6.
• Season 2: premiered 2018-07-06; final listed air date 2018-07-06; episode order: 7.
• Season 3: premiered 2021-11-28; final listed air date 2021-12-26; episode order: 3.
• Season 4: premiered 2024-03-09; final listed air date 2024-03-17.

Source and licence

Adapted from Behind Bars: The World's Toughest Prisons on TVmaze. The synopsis is reproduced as plain text; catalogue facts, cast and season records are selected and reformatted. This adapted text is available under CC BY-SA 4.0, following the TVmaze API licence. Network and web-channel credits identify the service listed in this source; they do not establish current streaming availability.