Legendary documentary maker Louis Theroux is back for a new series, this time exploring the impact of the internet and social media on some of the most controversial corners of American culture in Forbidden America.
Looking at “how online has collided with the real world, helping the far-right build solidarity, creating power shifts in the porn industry & seeing rap artists live-streaming feuds”, Louis will meet with an assortment of content creators who promote far-right views, self-destructive performers – and in some cases alleged predators – whose work involves them promoting and enacting the most risqué, immoral and illegal behaviour.
The docuseries will be separated into a trilogy of films, as Louis travels the length and breadth of the United States.
Ahead of the launch, Louis Theroux revealed he wants to speak to Tom Cruise about Scientology.
“Well, I suppose I need to acknowledge… I mean, Tom Cruise, only because of my history with Scientology,” he said.
“I feel as though people are either scared to ask him about it or they feel like it’ll create an awkward mood. I just think someone talking to Tom Cruise about what’s really going on inside Scientology would be really valid.”
So, when does Forbidden America start? And what can viewers expect?
Here’s everything you need to know ahead of the series.
Louis Theroux’s Forbidden America start date
CONFIRMED: Forbidden America will start on BBC Two on Sunday 13th February at 9pm.
The three-part series begins with Louis meeting the new influencers of the far-right who are promoting an ideology that is defiantly racist, misogynistic, homophobic and anti-Semitic, often packaging the most extreme views as ‘irony.’
The rest of the series will air weekly at the same time, and episodes will also be available to stream on BBC iPlayer.
What is Forbidden America about?
Travelling the United States of America to meet with content creators, performers and alleged predators, Theroux will look at the influence of social media and the internet in the entertainment world.
Including content that Theroux describes as “shocking and upsetting”, Forbidden America will show a world that has “become strange in ways we could never have imagined just 10 years ago”.
In the first film, Louis meets the young and highly inflammatory figures from the far right, including those who recently came to the broader public’s attention through the notorious Capitol Hill riots.
In another episode, Louis will immerse himself in the new world of rap and hip-hop in the southern states of America, and in particular Florida.
A third instalment will explore the porn industry as it grapples with its own Me Too movement.
Speaking of the docuseries, Theroux said: “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. Far-right groups that have found new influence through gaming and streaming services.”
He added: “Porn performers who have seen power shift to them as they’ve embraced creator-controlled apps and called out alleged predators in the industry. And in the rap world young men with big dreams caught up in feuds and high-risk behaviour in the click-driven world of social media.”
He added: “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.
“They show the dangers of the technotopia we all now inhabit, where extremist content can be piped directly into the phones and laptops of millions of children. But they also illustrate some of the positive opportunities the new world has created by disrupting old hierarchies of power.
“I’m very proud of all three programmes and hope viewers will find them as thought provoking to watch as I did making them.”
Is there a trailer for Forbidden America?
There isn’t an official trailer, but Mindhouse Productions, who are behind the film, shared a clip from the first episode, titled Extreme and Online.
You can watch it below:
13.02.22
— Mindhouse Productions (@MindhouseTV) February 6, 2022
Louis Theroux’s Forbidden America begins on BBC2 and BBC iPlayer#louistheroux #forbiddenamerica pic.twitter.com/fNBsrmBb2s
Forbidden America will air on BBC Two and BBC iPlayer. Find out what else to watch with our TV Guide or visit our dedicated Documentaries hub.
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