Netflix Prepping Russell Brand Documentary From 72 Films
Netflix is close to launching a documentary series on Russell Brand, produced by 72 Films, after his rape conviction and 10-year-six-month sentence. The streamer will stop promoting his 2018 stand-up special but will keep it online.
Netflix is prepping a major documentary series about comedian Russell Brand, days after a London court convicted him of rape and sexual assault. The streamer declined to comment on the project.
Brand was sentenced to 10 years and six months in prison. The series will be produced by 72 Films, and an announcement could come very soon.
A project already mentioned in court
The documentary surfaced during the trial at London's Southwark Crown Court. Mark Pinheiro, a former friend of Brand, testified that a producer had approached him about the Netflix show.
72 Films has made this kind of project for Netflix before. The company produced Jimmy Savile: A British Horror Story, which premiered on the streamer in 2022.
The stand-up special stays online
The news follows a separate decision. Netflix declined to take down Russell Brand: Re:Birth, a 2018 original comedy show filmed before a live audience at the Hackney Empire in East London.
In the special, Brand references his sexual escapades while reflecting on how long it took to conceive his first child with his wife, Laura Brand. She is thanked in the credits.
Netflix will keep hosting the show but will no longer actively promote it. It will not appear in viewing recommendations, and it does not come up when a member searches Brand's name. It can still be found by searching for "British stand-up comedy."
A Netflix source said: "We prioritize choice and control for our members: the freedom to watch what, how and when you want, with recommendations and ratings to inform those choices."
What the judge said
Brand was found guilty of rape and three counts of sexual assault after a four-week trial. Mr Justice Bennathan called him a "sexual predator" when he passed sentence.
The judge said Brand's fame protected him until 2023. That year Channel 4 and The Times of London published allegations about his conduct.
Bennathan paid tribute to the "determination and bravery" of the women who made complaints. He told Brand: "Whatever women wear, wherever they go, indeed whatever they drink, they retain the right to say 'no' and to demand justice from the criminal courts when sexual predators like you, Russell Brand, act without their consent."
