Louis Theroux Spills Names, Deets Of New Three-Part American Doco Series

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March 2, 2017

Documentarian / journalist / eternal bae Louis Theroux’s most powerful interview technique is remaining silent. Seriously, if you watch anything he’s ever done, you’ll notice the British hero hold back while his subjects say anything – anything – to fill those pained silences.

We reckon someone at The Independent just turned that trick against him, ’cause Theroux has dropped some absolutely plum details regarding his upcoming three-part documentary series for the BBC.

After it was reported Theroux would be dedicating his new work to the ascension of Donald Trump to President Donald Trump, Theroux has clarified the docos will be more about Trump’s America.

He told the paper “I immerse myself in some of the most dysfunctional and disturbing aspects of American society.” From the descriptions of the films alone, we’re convinced he’s bang on.

First, there’s Murder In Milwaukee, where Theroux visits a predominantly African-American neighbourhood reeling from police shootings, and engages with locals and activists. He also spends time with the local police department itself.

A doco with the working title Sex Trafficking Houston intends to, well, investigate sex trafficking in Houston. You can expect that one to deal with the repercussions of criminalising sex work, and how the system is bound by a ‘need’ to charge those who may be the most vulnerable.

Opiate City sees Theroux entrench himself in an Appalachian community absolutely ravaged by opiate usage. You can probably expect him to traverse the same territory 2013’s Oxyana did. Read: don’t expect it to be too cheerful.

Theroux said he’s been granted access to individuals across the spectrum of each issue, “with the idea of understanding the causes of it, both on a systemic level and also in a very personal way.”

You might be waiting a while for Theroux to turn his attention to Trump specifically, but his assessment of America’s hardest-hit regions may be a more nuanced investigation of his rise, anyway.

The docos will hit BBC Two at some point later this year, and friends, we’re so, so eager to catch them.