Louis Theroux returns to BBC Two with three new films

Louis Theroux is set to return to BBC Two later this year with three diverse new films, exploring American cities that face uniquely devastating challenges: murder, sex trafficking and opiate dependency.

Louis says: “I immerse myself in some of the most dysfunctional and disturbing aspects of American society. They combine hard-hitting actuality with intimate interviews. 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.”

Patrick Holland, Channel Controller, BBC Two, says: “This is so exciting. It is always a real event to have a new series from Louis on BBC Two. This trilogy promises to be hugely timely and challenging - it has never been more important to engage with the forces shaping modern America.”

These three films were commissioned by Patrick Holland, Channel Controller, BBC Two and Danny Horan, Commissioning Editor, Documentaries. Made by The Documentary Unit, BBC Studios, the Executive Producer is Peter Dale the Series Producer is Jamie Pickup.

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Louis Theroux: Murder In Milwaukee

Milwaukee is said to be one of the most racially divided and impoverished cities in the US. With spiraling gun crime and homicide rates, this Midwestern city encapsulates America’s complex and troubled relationship with guns and the increasing disharmony between African American communities and the police.

In Murder In Milwaukee Louis spends time with the Milwaukee Police Department as they patrol District 5, home to some of the nation’s deadliest streets, with a homicide rate over 12 times the national average. He follows the Homicide division as they investigate one of the city’s many killings. He also embeds himself with families and local social activists who have lost loved ones to these nightly acts of violence, and discovers a community who are often misunderstood by, and mistrustful of, the police.

Arriving at a time of heightened tension between the police and the African American community, due to a recent police shooting, Louis hears from both sides of the debate and uncovers hope in a desperate city.

Louis Theroux: Sex Trafficking Houston (w/t)

Houston, the fourth largest city in the US, is widely considered to be the number one hub for human trafficking in North America. The US Department of Justice estimates that at least one in five of all the country’s victims are trafficked through the city and most of these people will be forced to work in the sex industry.

In Sex Trafficking Houston (w/t) Louis spends time with American women working in the city’s sex industry, and explores the often complex dynamic between pimp and prostitute. He discovers a subculture that exists within a set of rules abhorrent by society’s moral norms, and seeks to understand what pulls people into this world. Louis also embeds himself with law enforcement and the county jail, and finds a criminal justice system grappling with the conflict between helping women remove themselves from a lifestyle that is often exploitative, while at the same time criminalising them.

Louis Theroux: Opiate City

America’s love affair with prescription painkillers has led to a population dependent on opiates. But since a crackdown on their over-prescription, where does this leave the two million Americans who developed a habit for these high-strength painkillers? With the pills now becoming increasingly expensive and scarce on the black market, vast numbers of Americans have turned to the cheaper and stronger opiate: heroin. The drug now claims more lives in the US than either car accidents or gun crime. And, for the first time in over two decades, life expectancy in the US is declining - largely attributed to the rise in fatal heroin overdoses.

In Huntington, West Virginia, Louis will embed himself in an Appalachian community that is being devastated and stretched to its limits by widespread heroin use. With one in ten babies in the city born addicted to opiates and a fatal overdose rate 13 times the national average, this is ground zero of the nation’s heroin epidemic. Louis follows the frontline emergency services, who respond multiple times a day to overdose call-outs, and spends time with a community of users who are caught in the vice-like grip of drug misuse and struggling to maintain their everyday lives.