Beyond Scared Straight: Story, Cast and Series Facts

Story and premise

Beyond Scared Straight is a new series executive produced by Arnold Shapiro and based on his Academy Award and multiple Emmy-Winning documentary "Scared Straight!," that will profile unique approaches to juvenile crime prevention in prisons around the U.S. "Scared Straight!" has become an iconic name and a cultural phenomenon over the years. The film made a huge impact - showcasing the radical and effective juvenile intervention program that took place in a New Jersey prison. Since they were created, both the prison program and the film have turned countless kids away from drugs, violence and crime. The power of the original "Scared Straight!" program has inspired dozens of inmate-run intervention programs in men's and women's prisons across the country; and this series will showcase several of them. Under the auspices of Arnold Shapiro, "Beyond Scared Straight" profiles the new approach to keeping today's kids from becoming tomorrow's convicts. Much like the original version of "Scared Straight!," these youthful offender programs put boys and girls of all ethnicities, ranging in age from 13-18, into intensive one-day in-prison sessions that show them the realities of life behind bars. However, in many dramatic ways, these 21st Century programs are very different from the original because today's youth needs a different approach. For current teens, city streets can be as dangerous as the life they believe exists behind bars. TV, film and music have glorified the gang and prison experience and the task of "scaring" teens is more complicated now than ever. As a result, inmates have had to adapt their methods - making them more a combination of intimidation, information and communication - and the results for the new program have proven to be equally effective.

Series details

• Title: Beyond Scared Straight
• Format: Reality
• Language: English
• Premiere date: 2011-01-13
• Final broadcast date listed: 2015-09-03
• Status in TVmaze: Ended
• Network listed by TVmaze: A&E
• Network country: United States
• Typical episode runtime: 60 minutes
• TVMaze ID: 5606
• IMDb ID: tt1707374
• TVDB ID: 219331

Seasons in the TVmaze catalogue

• Season 1: premiered 2011-01-13; final listed air date 2011-03-03; episode order: 7.
• Season 2: premiered 2011-08-18; final listed air date 2012-01-19; episode order: 12.
• Season 3: premiered 2012-08-20; final listed air date 2013-02-07; episode order: 17.
• Season 4: premiered 2013-05-30; final listed air date 2013-08-01; episode order: 9.
• Season 5: premiered 2013-10-03; final listed air date 2013-11-21; episode order: 8.
• Season 6: premiered 2014-03-07; final listed air date 2014-04-24; episode order: 8.
• Season 7: premiered 2014-06-26; final listed air date 2014-07-31; episode order: 6.
• Season 8: premiered 2014-12-04; final listed air date 2014-12-18; episode order: 5.
• Season 9: premiered 2015-06-25; final listed air date 2015-09-03; episode order: 11.

Source and licence

Adapted from Beyond Scared Straight 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.