Louis Theroux, the acclaimed journalist, documentary-maker and inspiration behind one of our favourite Twitter accounts, has three new BBC documentaries coming later this year, and we can’t wait.
The three films will delve into some ‘uniquely devastating challenges’ facing the US at the moment, including murder, sex trafficking, and opiate dependency, and will air on BBC Two, reported The Independent. The BBC hasn’t yet confirmed a broadcast date.
Theroux said the documentaries will show him embedding himself “in some of the most dysfunctional and disturbing aspects of American society,” and will, as ever, “combine hard-hitting actuality with intimate interviews.”
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He said: “I have been granted access to the police in several states; I've got to know the people affected by crime; and I've also spent time with the perpetrators of crime, with the idea of understanding the causes of it, both on a systemic level and also in a very personal way,” The Independent reported.
Recent reports suggested Theroux’s upcoming documentaries would delve into the rise of Trump but this isn’t the case, according to The Independent.
Murder in Milwaukee will see Theroux exploring tensions between police and the African American community in the aftermath of two police shootings in the impoverished US city. He meets both the police and families, and local social activists.
In Sex Trafficking Houston, he visits the human-trafficking hotspot to interview sex workers and probe their relationships with pimps. He explores the issue from a legal perspective, too, meeting law enforcement and the county jail, where he finds a criminal justice system conflicted by trying to help women while simultaneously criminalising them.
Opiate City will show Theroux tackling the thorny issue of prescription painkillers in Huntington, West Virginia. He’ll explore the fact that many Americans have become dependent on opiates, particularly heroin, thanks to a crack-down on oversubscription.
He meets an Appalachian community affected by large-scale heroin use and trails the emergency services as they attend overdose call-outs, The Independent reported.
“It is always a real event to have a new series from Louis on BBC Two," said Patrick Holland, BBC Two’s Channel Editor. "This trilogy promises to be hugely timely and challenging, it has never been more important to engage with the forces shaping modern America.”
Popcorn at the ready!