Louis Theroux is returning to BBC Two and BBC iPlayer with a new three-part series entitled Louis Theroux: Forbidden America.
Looking at the impact of social media and the internet in some of the most controversial corners of American entertainment, Forbidden America will see Theroux travel the length and breadth of the United States meeting an assortment of content creators.
From promoters of far-right views to self-destructive performers, and in some cases alleged predators, Theroux will explore the motivations driving the performers whose work involves promoting and enacting the most risqué, immoral and illegal behaviour.
In the first film, Theroux meets the young and highly inflammatory figures from the far right, including those who recently took part in the notorious Capitol Hill riots, who are using their online platforms to build a growing army of ‘dissident’ nationalists sharing deeply racist, homophobic, Anti-Semitic and misogynistic views.
In the second film, Theroux travels to the southern states of America to immerse himself in the new world of rap and hip-hop, discovering rappers who are starting feuds, opening up about their anxieties and fears, and live-streaming their chaotic lifestyles to their online following with mixed results.
The third instalment will explore how the porn industry, which prides itself on pushing sexual boundaries, is grappling with its own Me Too movement. From the rise of platforms such as OnlyFans which have given performers financial independence, to using Twitter to post accusations of sexual misconduct, Theroux will meet numerous people from the industry as it undergoes its reckoning.
Louis Theroux commented: “The world has gone through massive changes in the last few years, in particular from the effects of social media. This new series looks at the way those changes have affected people in America who are in different ways involved in dangerous, extreme, or morally questionable lifestyles.”
“These three documentaries were tough to make. They required delicate access conversations. They feature scenes and confrontations that are shocking and upsetting. But they are also powerful depictions of a world that has become strange in ways we could never have imagined just 10 years ago.”
