List of Louis Theroux documentaries explained

British television presenter Louis Theroux has presented a number of documentaries since 1998. His work includes studies of unusual and taboo subcultures, crime and the justice system, and celebrities. He also acted as a correspondent for the TV Nation documentary series.[1]

Louis Theroux's Weird Weekends

See main article: article and Louis Theroux's Weird Weekends.

Series 1 (1998)

TitleBroadcastSynopsis
1.1"Christianity"15 January 1998In Dallas, Louis meets TV evangelists Marcus and Joni Lamb, and joins a group of hardline Christians called "The Family" as they visit the Deep Ellum entertainment district.
1.2"UFOs"22 January 1998Louis follows several people who believe in UFOs. One of these is a man called Thor Templar, the self-titled "Lord Commander of the Earth Protectorate" who claims to have killed more than twenty aliens.
1.3"Porn"29 January 1998This episode offers a look at very different sides of the porn industry, as Theroux interviews both male and female porn stars. He reveals the problems a lot of porn actors face, be it not getting a job in straight porn and therefore having to do gay porn, or not getting an erection when it is needed.
1.4"Survivalists"5 February 1998In Idaho, Theroux meets military enthusiasts and right-wing patriots who are preparing for a global catastrophe, including trips to survivalists' store Safetrek and a mountain refuge for conspiracy theorists called Almost Heaven. Theroux also visits the Aryan Nation Church and helps to build a straw-bale home. The episode focuses on the survivalism movement and communities formed around it. That several self-proclaimed survivalists were also hippies and environmentalists is a recurring theme.
1.5Louis Theroux's Weird ChristmasTheroux invites someone from each of the four episodes of series 1 to New York for Christmas.

Series 2 (1999)

TitleBroadcastSynopsis
2.1"Infomercials"12 May 1999Theroux attempts to become a presenter on Florida's Home Shopping Network TV channel and meets Anthony Sullivan. He also meets people who invent, sell and make a fortune from products such as the Win Gym.
2.2"Swingers"26 May 1999Theroux meets a couple from Southern California who host swinging parties. He visits one of these to find out what drives couples to want to swap partners. This programme also offers a brief look into other kinds of swinging through an organisation that has a database of members that are rated on a scale of 1 to 10. Under this system, people rated highly are invited to exclusive parties intended to keep out unattractive, socially awkward, or otherwise undesirable people.
2.3"Black Nationalism"2 June 1999Theroux goes to Harlem in New York to meet its proponents, and meets the Reverend Al Sharpton, the main point of contact in the black nationalist movement. Theroux also meets Khalid Abdul Muhammad, dubbed by the media 'the most dangerous man in America' and visits the Israelite School of Universal Practical Knowledge, who believe that blacks are the true Israelites and that all English monarchs until early modern times were black. Theroux also joins Al Sharpton on a march on Wall Street to protest at the shooting by New York police of Amadou Diallo, who was shot 19 times.
2.4"Demolition Derby"9 June 1999Theroux has to overcome his nerves to enter a demolition derby in car-mad Michigan.
2.5"Off-Off Broadway"Theroux meets the hordes of out-of-work actors in New York as they try to land a part – and even goes on an audition himself – for a job on a Norwegian cruise ship, in front of Craig Revel Horwood.
2.6"Wrestling"6 July 1999Theroux takes a look at different types of wrestling from the high-profile WCW to low-profile amateurs organizing events in their spare time. He also visits the WCW Power Plant, a training facility where some of the WCW wrestlers started out. The training he receives there from DeWayne Bruce shows him that some wrestlers will not break kayfabe (the illusion of fiction being fact) and will take exception when their profession's authenticity is questioned.

Series 3 (2000)

TitleBroadcastSynopsis
3.1"Self-Fulfillment"Theroux meets a Las Vegas hypnotist who claims he can make dreams come true and meets a California man who teaches chat-up techniques.
3.2"India: Enlightenment"2 October 2000Theroux travels to India to witness Westerners seeking enlightenment. In Goa he meets 57-year-old American astrologer (and former psychology professor) "Deepak" who studies meditation. He moves on to meet Mike, who is a follower of Swami Ganapathi Sachchidananda, and Amma who claims spiritual powers through hugging people. He joins Amma on a pilgrimage with 400 believers on their three-month tour of India.
3.3"Whites"9 October 2000Theroux meets Afrikaner separatists who dream of building cultural enclaves in post-apartheid South Africa, including leader Eugène Terre'Blanche.
3.4"Body Building"16 October 2000Theroux travels to California, home of the body beautiful, to see if he can join the world of extreme body building. After working out with Guy Grundy, a leading amateur, he soon realises he is not cut out to be a muscle man and goes off in search of another role in the bodybuilding world. Theroux travels to Charles Peeple's farm in Connecticut, where Peeple has transformed his farm into a playboy mansion for female body builders. While here, Theroux gets a part in a female muscle film being made at the farm.
3.5"Looking for Love"23 October 2000Theroux visits a Bangkok marriage agency where Western men meet Thai brides.
3.6"Rap"30 October 2000Theroux travels to America's South to have a look at the gangsta rap scene known as the "Dirty South". He starts his own Gangsta rap, having a CD cover designed for him as well as getting the rappers Reece and Bigelow to write a song for him to perform on a rap radio show. Other parts include him interviewing pimp turned rapper Mello T, as well as rap superstar Master P.

When Louis Met...

See main article: article and When Louis Met….

Series 1 (2000–2001)

TitleBroadcastSynopsis
1.1When Louis Met Jimmy13 April 2000Theroux visits his former childhood hero—73-year-old Jimmy Savile, the miner who became a TV and radio star. Theroux also talks briefly about the allegations of paedophilia against Savile before the Jimmy Savile sexual abuse scandal broke after his death.
1.2When Louis Met Paul and Debbie20 February 2001Theroux joins Paul Daniels and Debbie McGee in their home beside the River Thames and on the road as the magician appears on Celebrity Ready, Steady, Cook and his wife launches a ballet company.
1.3When Louis Met the HamiltonsTheroux follows the former Tory MP Neil Hamilton and his wife Christine Hamilton as they try to make a living as "objects of curiosity". The film features Theroux on the sofa with a tipsy Christine, and follows the pair when they are arrested over an alleged sexual scandal (both were later cleared).

Series 2 (2002)

TitleBroadcastSynopsis
2.1When Louis Met Ann Widdecombe5 March 2002A prickly encounter with the Conservative politician Ann Widdecombe, in which Theroux upsets her by asking about her possibly non-existent sex life and hears about her love of poetry and cats.
2.2When Louis Met Chris Eubank12 March 2002Theroux joins the ex-boxer Chris Eubank at home, in the ring and on a trip to buy jodhpurs. Eubank attempts a tongue twister and pontificates on being a role model for children.
2.3When Louis Met Keith Harris and Orville in Panto19 March 2002Theroux meets the ventriloquist Keith Harris who no longer enjoys the TV light entertainment limelight but is still earning a good living. He has a flashy car, an ex-model partner, a large home and a role in Crewe's pantomime.
2.4When Louis Met Max CliffordTheroux meets publicist Max Clifford as he handles Pop Idol judge Simon Cowell and child star Declan Galbraith and organises a charity event involving Westlife.
2.5Living with Louis2002 on Produced exclusively for pay TV channel UK Horizons. Jimmy, Paul and Debbie, The Hamiltons, Chris Eubank and Keith Harris talk about being interviewed by Theroux. Theroux also discusses how he felt those four shows went and what the subjects were like to spend time with. The show is interspersed with clips from the shows.

BBC Two specials

See main article: article and Louis Theroux's BBC Two specials.

One-off episodes

TitleBroadcastSynopsis
1Louis and the Brothel9 November 2003Ex-prostitute Susan Austin and her ex-client and now husband, Lance Gilman, run America's newest legal brothel The Wild Horse Ranch in Reno, Nevada. In a three-week sojourn, Theroux gets to know the couple and meets their customers. He also hears the stories of the working women.
2Louis, Martin & Michael16 November 2003
3Louis and the NazisTheroux travels to California to get to know some of the key personalities of the American neo-Nazi movement.
44 February 2007
5The Most Hated Family in America1 April 2007Theroux spends a week with the Westboro Baptist Church
67 October 2007In California, Theroux investigates extreme plastic surgery.
713 January 2008
8African Hunting Holiday6 April 2008
9Law and Disorder in Philadelphia30 November 2008
10Law and Disorder in Johannesburg7 December 2008
11A Place for Paedophiles19 April 2009
12The City Addicted to Crystal Meth9 August 2009Theroux examines how drug addiction has torn apart the city of Fresno in Central Valley, California.
13America's Medicated Kids18 April 2010
14Law and Disorder in Lagos10 October 2010Theroux travels to Lagos and investigates crime in that city.
15The Ultra Zionists3 February 2011
16America's Most Hated Family in Crisis3 April 2011Four years after his last visit, Theroux returns to spend a week with the Westboro Baptist Church in the wake of several defections from the church.
17Miami Mega Jail Part 122 May 2011Theroux spends time in one of the most notorious sections of Miami County Jail: the fifth and sixth floor of 'Main Jail', where many of the most volatile inmates are incarcerated.
18Miami Mega Jail Part 229 May 2011Theroux goes deeper into the jail system and meets an inmate facing a possible death sentence. He also follows a group of younger inmates who have escaped prison by pleading guilty and agreeing to attend a four-month military style boot camp.
19America's Most Dangerous Pets30 October 2011
2019 April 2012Theroux travels to one of the most innovative autism schools of its kind – the DLC Warren in New Jersey – opened in 2007 at a cost of $54 million. There he finds out how specialised intervention can help both the children and the families that care for them.
2126 April 2012
22Twilight of the Porn Stars10 June 2012Fifteen years after documenting the world of male porn performers in Los Angeles, Theroux returns to find a business struggling with the deluge of free porn online.
23By Reason of Insanity Part 122 March 2015Theroux immerses himself in the world of Ohio's State Psychiatric Hospitals, meeting patients who have committed crimes - at times horrifically violent - while in the grip of severe mental illness.
24By Reason of Insanity Part 229 March 2015
25Transgender Kids5 April 2015Theroux travels to a hospital in San Francisco to meet transgender children and their families, as they undergo life-changing treatment.
26Drinking to Oblivion24 April 2016
27A Different Brain15 May 2016
28Savile2 October 2016
29Talking to Anorexia
30The Night in Question4 March 2019
31Mothers on the Edge12 May 2019
32Surviving America's Most Hated Family14 July 2019
33Selling Sex12 January 2020
34Shooting Joe Exotic5 April 2021

LA Stories

TitleBroadcastSynopsis
1LA Stories: City of Dogs
2LA Stories: Edge of Life30 March 2014
3LA Stories: Among the Sex Offenders6 April 2014

Dark States

TitleBroadcastSynopsis
1Heroin Town8 October 2017
2Sex Trafficking in Houston15 October 2017Investigating sex workers and their pimps, Theroux uncovers the dark underbelly of Houston, Texas.
3Murder in MilwaukeeTheroux spends time with the Milwaukee Police Department as they try to tackle the high rate of homicide and meets the residents affected by gun crime.

Altered States

TitleBroadcastSynopsis
1Love Without Limits4 November 2018Theroux travels to Portland, Oregon, to meet people engaging in polyamorous relationships.
2Choosing Death18 November 2018An investigation into California and Oregon's right to die laws for terminally ill people and those who are in pain but are not terminally ill.
3Take My BabyTheroux meets American women who cannot or will not keep their new-born baby and seek to find new parents from an adoption agency.

Life on the Edge

Life on the Edge is a series released during the social distancing restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the UK in 2020. It follows Theroux, in his home, discussing the content and making of many of his past documentaries, including Weird Weekends, interspersed with clips and interviews with participants.

TitleBroadcastSynopsis
1Beyond Belief6 September 2020
2The Dark Side of Pleasure13 September 2020
3Law and Disorder20 September 2020
4Family Ties27 September 2020

Forbidden America

Forbidden America is a three-part series focusing on social media use in the United States among several groups, including the alt-right, rappers and pornographic film actors.

TitleBroadcastSynopsis
1Extreme and Online13 February 2022Theroux interviews Nick Fuentes and Baked Alaska.
2Rap's New Frontline20 February 2022Louis interviews members of the trap rap community in Florida about the controversies and criminal records that the artists have accrued, including an interview with 9lokkNine, prior to his trial for attempted murder.
3Porn's MeToo27 February 2022Louis interviews Los Angeles porn stars about changes in the industry following the rise of OnlyFans and the MeToo movement. Theroux talks with Mia Malkova, Pierre Woodman, Ginger Banks and Derek Hay.

Louis Theroux Interviews...

Louis Theroux gets up close and personal with the UK's biggest stars in the way only he can.

TitleBroadcastSynopsis
1.1Stormzy25 October 2022
1.2Dame Judi Dench1 November 2022
1.3Yungblud8 November 2022
1.4Bear Grylls15 November 2022
1.5Katherine Ryan22 November 2022
1.6Rita Ora29 November 2022
TitleBroadcastSynopsis
2.1Anthony Joshua7 November 2023
2.2Pete Doherty14 November 2023
2.3Joan Collins21 November 2023
2.4RAYE28 November 2023
2.5Chelsea Manning5 December 2023
2.6Ashley Walters12 December 2023

My Scientology Movie

See main article: article and My Scientology Movie.

A documentary film about Scientology in which Theroux teams up with former senior church official Mark Rathbun, the film takes an unconventional approach, after the Church of Scientology refused to cooperate in its making. It features actors "auditioning" for parts playing high-profile Scientologists in scenes recreating accounts from ex-members about incidents involving senior church management. Initially released on 7 October 2016 in the UK, and 3 March 2017 in the US.

KSI: In Real Life

See main article: article and KSI: In Real Life.

A documentary film about the life and career of musician, boxer and YouTuber KSI. The documentary was released on 26 January 2023.

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: IMDb Cast Page for TV Nation. . 2 December 2012.