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Open Secret will explore the different stages of Brand's public life, including his success as a comedian and actor
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Russell Brand's criminal convictions to be examined in new Netflix documentary 'Open Secret'
Nov 12, 2026
Highlights
- Netflix's Russell Brand: Open Secret will explore the comedian's career, public image and criminal convictions.
- The documentary features journalists Rosamund Urwin and Charlotte Wace, who helped break the allegations against Brand in 2023.
- Its release on November 13 comes days after Brand was sentenced to 10 years and six months in prison for rape and sexual assault.
Netflix is set to examine Russell Brand's rise to fame, public controversies and criminal convictions in a new documentary arriving just days after the comedian was sentenced to 10 years and six months in prison.
Titled Russell Brand: Open Secret, the documentary will trace his journey from comedian and film star to political commentator and YouTuber known for promoting conspiracy theories.
The film will be released on Friday (November 13) and comes from the producers of the 2022 documentary Jimmy Savile: A British Horror Story.
It will feature interviews with people who have insight into Brand's life, including journalists Rosamund Urwin and Charlotte Wace, who helped break the story about allegations against him in The Times and The Sunday Times in 2023.
Netflix documentary revisits Russell Brand's career
Open Secret will explore the different stages of Brand's public life, including his success as a comedian and actor before his shift towards political commentary and online content.
The documentary's release follows renewed scrutiny of Netflix's decision to retain Brand's 2018 stand-up special, Russell Brand: Re: Birth, on its platform after his criminal convictions.
The special, recorded at London's Hackney Empire, will no longer be actively promoted or recommended to subscribers, although viewers will still be able to access it.
A Netflix source told The Telegraph and other publications: “We prioritise choice and control for our members: the freedom to watch what, how and when you want, with recommendations and ratings to inform those choices.”
Why was Russell Brand sentenced to 10 years and six months?
On November 5, Brand was found guilty of one count of rape and three counts of sexual assault involving four women between 2004 and 2009.
He was sentenced to 10 years and six months in prison on November 9. He is expected to serve two-thirds of his sentence before being released on licence and will remain on the sex offenders' register for life.
During sentencing, the judge said Brand's celebrity status had protected him until the 2023 investigation by Channel 4's Dispatches, The Times and The Sunday Times encouraged more women to come forward.
The judge also stressed that women have the right to refuse sexual activity regardless of what they wear, where they go or what they drink.
Brand has also been the subject of a Metropolitan Police investigation into two further alleged rapes, including one involving a 16-year-old schoolgirl. Charging files are being considered by the Crown Prosecution Service.
When will Russell Brand: Open Secret release?
Russell Brand: Open Secret will arrive on Netflix on Friday, November 13, 2026.
The documentary's release comes less than a week after Brand's conviction and sentencing, bringing renewed attention to the allegations, the investigation and the events that led to his criminal trial.
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