The house of Saud, "detaining hundreds of the richest people in the Kingdom, including 11 members of the royal family, in a luxurious five-star hotel. The series looks at looks at how those arrests marked a dramatic break with the past."

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b09m53d9

A BBC 2 series which showed the arrest of the Saudi princes and officials that was leaked a while ago, but didnt seem to make mainstream news in UK or USA.

You can get it online at BBC catch up.

Episode 1

House of Saud: A Family at War,Series 1 Episode 1 of 3

Saudi Arabia stands at a crucial crossroads facing unprecedented change. The Kingdom has long enjoyed seemingly inexhaustible wealth and untold power and influence. But the House of Saud is accused of spreading extremist ideology and even supporting violent extremists. This series looks at the challenges facing the new Crown Prince, 32-year-old Mohammed bin Salman, who has pledged to transform the country.

The first episode examines the new leader's dramatic commitment to end extremism and to return to moderate Islam. Travelling from eastern Europe to India, and across the bloody battlefields of Syria and Yemen, the programme traces the impact that huge amounts of Saudi cash and weapons have had around the world.

In recent years, Saudi Arabia has worked closely on counter-terrorism with the west and revolutionary change is now promised inside the Kingdom. But growing regional conflict with Iran has now placed the country at the heart of the crisis in the Middle East. The programme asks whether this most powerful and secretive country can now be a force for stability or a force for chaos in the world.

Episode 2

House of Saud: A Family at War,Series 1 Episode 2 of 3

The House of Saud has launched an unprecedented crackdown on corruption, detaining hundreds of the richest people in the Kingdom, including 11 members of the royal family, in a luxurious five-star hotel. The series looks at looks at how those arrests marked a dramatic break with the past.

This episode tells the inside story of how some of the most prominent and richest Saudi royals were caught up in the purge. The detentions opened the door on a highly secret world of kickbacks and bribes on a monumental scale, which have also embroiled many foreign governments and some of the world's leading companies.

The anti-corruption drive is led by the new crown prince, 32-year old Mohammed bin Salman, who has pledged to transform the country and to reform the country's oil-dependent economy. But the programme hears from those who question whether the mass detentions were less about ending corruption and more about the crown prince removing any resistance to his succession to the throne. As Saudi Arabia stands at a crossroads facing historic change, the programme asks if the latest crackdown could endanger the stability of Saudi Arabia and the House of Saud itself.

Episode 3

House of Saud: A Family at War,Series 1 Episode 3 of 3

The House of Saud, rulers of the modern kingdom for nearly a century, are now facing a moment of unprecedented instability. This episode looks at how the family stays in power.

The film features some of those who have worked for Saudi princes. They describe how the wealth allowed lives of privilege and pleasure out of the spotlight. But the growth of social media has meant Saudis are getting increasing insight into the behaviour of their rulers, including their transgressions.

The uniquely generous social contract that has existed in the kingdom for decades has protected and bolstered the House of Saud, yet this is changing. Facing a demographic time-bomb of a hugely young population and an economy beset by low oil prices, the new ruler Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman has embarked on an unprecedented programme of social and economic reform. Allowing women to drive and relaxing rules on the male guardianship system, his modernising agenda has pleased many. At the same time, his government has recently introduced strict anti-terror laws and is conducting what many consider to be a crackdown on any critics. This month, a leading a group of UN experts attacked the kingdom's behaviour as a 'persecution of human rights defenders'.

The film also features information security experts who believe that the Saudi government uses sophisticated methods to monitor social media in order to suppress dissent and internal criticism of the regime.

With this crucially important country facing a historic crossroads, the programme asks what the future holds for Saudi Arabia and the rest of the world.