Prison Drama Riot Premieres on Netflix Later This Year

Poland’s 1989 Prison Uprising Gets the Netflix Treatment in Riot

As Poland basks in its newfound freedom in 1989, the biggest prison riot in postwar Europe erupts behind the walls of its forgotten prisons. Inspired by those events, Riot, directed by Mateusz Rakowicz and Marek Lechki, puts Borys Szyc and Filip Pławiak at the center of a brutal conflict. They play former fellow inmates on opposite sides of the prison wall, each trying to stop the bloodshed.

Reagan (Szyc) and Janek (Pławiak) are old cellmates who join forces to win amnesty for the prisoners and defuse the rising tensions between inmates and guards.

Szyc and Pławiak bring a layered, volatile dynamic to their characters, who are haunted by a shared past. Caught between old loyalty, revenge and a brutal fight for survival, they walk a razor-thin line.

The six-episode prison drama is directed by Mateusz Rakowicz and Marek Lechki and written by Łukasz Bluszcz and Marcin Kubawski. Maciej Kubicki of Telemark produces. Alongside Szyc and Pławiak, the cast includes Anita Szepelska, Jacek Poniedziałek, Artur Kujawa, Ryszard Kakietek, Michał Pietrzak, Michał Felczak, Rafał Maćkowiak and Wini (Winicjusz Bartków).

Riot premieres later this year on Netflix.