Netflix Prepping Russell Brand Documentary After Rape Conviction

EXCLUSIVE: Netflix is close to launching a major documentary series about Russell Brand.

The streamer will spotlight Brand after he was convicted of rape and sexual assault last week. He was sentenced to 10 years and six months in prison.

The documentary, which wil be produced by 72 Films, could be confirmed as early as tomorrow. Netflix declined to comment.

The project was referenced during the trial. Giving evidence at London’s Southwark Crown Court, Mark Pinheiro, a former friend of Brand, said he had been approached by a producer about the Netflix show.

Netflix has form when it comes to spotlighting high-profile British sex offenders in glossy documentaries produced by 72 Films. The streamer premiered Jimmy Savile: A British Horror Story in 2022.

News of the Brand project comes after Netflix declined to take down Russell Brand: Re:Birth, the 2018 original comedy show filmed in front of a live audience at the Hackney Empire in East London.

During the stand-up special, Brand references his sexual escapades while reflecting on how long it took to conceive his first child with wife, Laura Brand, who is thanked in the credits.

“I’ve hardly been conservative with sperm. Giving the stuff away like sticky confetti,” he said. “The real miracle is that one of them’s been allowed to germinate instead of being squandered in a stranger’s eyelashes.”

Netflix will continue to host Russell Brand: Re:Birth but will no longer actively promote the show to members after Brand was sentenced on Monday. Russell Brand: Re:Birth will not feature in Netflix viewing recommendations and does not appear when searching Brand’s name. The show can be found, however, 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.”

Brand was last week found guilty of rape and three counts of sexual assault. In sentencing remarks following the four-week trial, Mr Justice Bennathan described Brand as a “sexual predator,” and said his fame protected him until 2023, when Channel 4 and The Times of London published allegations about his conduct.

The judge paid tribute to the “determination and bravery” of the women who made complaints about 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,” Bennathan said.