Open Secret: Netflix's Russell Brand film from makers of its Jimmy Savile doc drops tomorrow
Open Secret charts the comedian's rise and fall, and it's streaming from FridayNetflix documentary Russell Brand: Open Secret is coming to the streamer this week, just days after the comedian was jailed.
The film charts Brand’s rise from stand-up comedian and Hollywood star to political activist and YouTuber, and his fall following allegations of sexual offences, which ended in a criminal trial.
When is Russell Brand: Open Secret on Netflix?
Russell Brand: Open Secret is available to stream on Netflix from Friday, November 13.
It’s a single feature-length documentary, rather than a series, with a running time of 1 hour 24 minutes. It’s rated 15.
What is Russell Brand: Open Secret about?
Netflix says the film follows Brand’s path “from comedian and film star to political activist and YouTuber known for spouting conspiracy theories,” and ultimately to his criminal trial.
It uses interviews with people who knew him and archive footage from across his career.
It also tells the story of the investigation by The Times and The Sunday Times, led by chief media correspondent Rosamund Urwin and investigations correspondent Charlotte Wace, which first published allegations against Brand in September 2023.
Russell Brand’s rise to fame
Brand, 51, was born in Grays, Essex, and first found fame as a presenter on MTV, before hosting Big Brother’s Big Mouth on E4 from 2004.
His stand-up career took off in the mid-2000s, and he moved into films, with roles in St Trinian’s, Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Get Him to the Greek and a remake of Arthur. He was married to singer Katy Perry from 2010 to 2012.
He also had a show on BBC Radio 2, but resigned in 2008 after he and Jonathan Ross left lewd messages on the answerphone of Fawlty Towers actor Andrew Sachs.
In later years he reinvented himself online, building a YouTube audience of millions with videos on politics, spirituality and conspiracy theories.
The investigation behind the film
In September 2023, The Times, The Sunday Times and Channel 4’s Dispatches published a joint investigation in which several women made allegations of sexual offences against Brand. He denied them.
YouTube suspended his ability to earn money from his channel soon afterwards, and he moved much of his content to the video platform Rumble.
The documentary follows that investigation through the work of the two reporters who led it at The Times, Rosamund Urwin and Charlotte Wace.
Brand was charged in April 2025, and his trial took place this autumn.
Read more: David Walliams: Power and Silence doc airs on ITV with allegations against the comedian
Where can I watch Russell Brand: In Plain Sight?
The story first broke in Russell Brand: In Plain Sight, a 90-minute Dispatches documentary made with The Times and The Sunday Times, which aired on Channel 4 on September 16, 2023.
It is still available to stream for free on Channel 4’s streaming service.
Open Secret revisits that investigation more than three years on, following it through to Brand’s trial and conviction.
Who made the documentary?
Russell Brand: Open Secret is directed by Olivia Isaacs and made by 72 Films, part of Fremantle.
72 Films also made Jimmy Savile: A British Horror Story, Netflix’s 2022 documentary about the late DJ and TV presenter.
The executive producers are Clare Cameron, David Glover and Mark Raphael.
Russell Brand sentenced and jailed
On November 5, 2026, a jury at Southwark Crown Court found Brand guilty of one count of rape and three counts of sexual assault.
He was found not guilty of two further counts of rape and one count of attempted indecent assault. He had denied all the charges.
On Monday, November 9, he was jailed for 10 and a half years.
Russell Brand: Open Secret streams on Netflix from Friday, November 13.
This article was produced with the assistance of AI technology to synthesise source reporting and structured data. It has been reviewed, edited, and fact-checked by our human editorial team before publication.
