Netflix Sets Nov. 13 Release for Documentary 'Russell Brand: Open Secret'

Netflix will release the documentary Russell Brand: Open Secret on Nov. 13, eight days after a London court sentenced the comedian and actor to 10 years in prison for rape and sexual assault.

Olivia Isaacs directed the film. According to a press release, it "charts the story of Russell Brand's meteoric rise and steep fall following allegations of sexual offenses." The film draws on inside voices and archive footage, and examines the investigation run by the U.K. publications the Times and the Sunday Times and their reporters Rosamind Urwin and Charlotte Wace. (The source names the reporters as Rosamind Urwin and Charlotte Wace.)

A short teaser for the documentary calls Brand a "shapeshifter" and a "grifter." It also notes that the journalists initially did not realize their investigation would lead to criminal charges.

What did the trial decide?

On Nov. 5, a London jury found Brand guilty of one count of rape and three counts of sexual assault. The court found him not guilty on two additional counts of rape and one count of attempted indecent assault. The allegations came from six women and covered the period between 1999 and 2009.

The sentencing breakdown is precise. The rape charge carries nine years in prison. The three assault charges carry penalties of nine months, 18 months and eight months respectively. The assault sentences will be served concurrently with each other, but consecutively with the rape sentence, producing the total of 10 years.

Brand will be eligible for parole only after serving two-thirds of his sentence. That means at least seven years behind bars. If granted parole, he would serve the remainder under supervision and subject to specific rules.

How did the case begin?

Police began investigating Brand in 2023. Multiple women had come forward with allegations of assault and abuse in a Channel 4 documentary and in the Sunday Times report. Prosecutors filed the first five charges in April 2025. Two additional charges followed in December.

What happened outside the courtroom?

The verdict produced one of the case's most remarked-upon confrontations. Brand's attorney, Ian Winter, approached reporter Rosamind Urwin outside the courtroom after the trial and told her: "I hope you are pleased with yourself."

Urwin responded: "I'm pleased justice has been done."

Winter replied: "Well, it wasn't. You fucked it."

Winter later confirmed he had referred himself to the Bar Standards Board.

Urwin addressed the exchange on a Times podcast. She said she approached Winter after the verdict because her name had been mentioned during the trial. "I thought he's talked about me a lot, I'll go and introduce myself and that is a legitimate thing to do," she said. "I was surprised to be confronted and spoken to in that way."

What does this change for Brand?

The criminal case is closed, but the legal exposure is not. The Metropolitan Police are continuing to investigate Brand after several people contacted them with information during and after the trial. "Detectives are assessing this information as part of their ongoing enquiries," a spokesperson told the BBC.

The Netflix release on Nov. 13 will arrive with that investigation still open, giving the documentary a news peg that could extend well past its premiere date.