Laura Berens is counting down to Netflix's The New Stanford Prison Experiment-and revealing that she will discover how the series unfolds at the same time as viewers. Ahead of its October 21 premiere, Berens shared an Instagram update mixing excitement with nerves about the approaching release.
"This will be my first time seeing any of it, too... so I'll be watching right alongside you," she wrote. "Excited, a little nervous, and still can't believe this is happening!"
Her admission adds a personal dimension to an unscripted series built around an unsettling premise. The New Stanford Prison Experiment places 30 willing participants inside a real prison, randomly assigning them roles as guards or prisoners to explore how people respond to authority, hierarchy and control. The six-episode season premieres October 21 on Netflix.
Berens appears in promotional images from the series, including an episode-two photograph alongside fellow participants. Her Instagram announcement leaves her experience under wraps, offering no account of her assigned role or what happened during filming.
The trailer suggests viewers should expect escalating tension. PEOPLE's exclusive first look shows participants struggling with the boundaries between their assigned roles and their actual identities, while one guard acknowledges, "We went too far. I think we made a mistake."
The title invokes the controversial Stanford study that examined behavior within a simulated prison environment. This new television production revisits questions about power and moral choices through an unscripted format, asking whether empathy and individuality can survive the pressure to conform.
For Berens, the next step is watching the finished production. Her message invites followers to join her for that first viewing, with the anticipation heightened by a simple disclosure: she has yet to see what audiences will see.
The New Stanford Prison Experiment premieres October 21 on Netflix. Watch the trailer via PEOPLE and follow Laura Berens on Instagram for her updates.
