BBC Orders Doc on America’s Right-Wing Women

BBC Factual has commissioned America’s New Female Right, a one-off documentary exploring the rise of right-wing ideologies in American women, for BBC Three and iPlayer.

Produced by Mindhouse Productions, America’s New Female Right will take viewers inside the latest iteration of the American right, populated by a growing community of content creators posting inflammatory and anti-feminist content online. The doc will debut on September 2.

Against the backdrop of the presidential election, the title will see 27 year-old British journalist Layla Wright travel from her hometown in Liverpool to the U.S. to explore this phenomenon. Wright is currently creator in residence at Mindhouse Productions since joining the company in 2022 and has worked alongside Mindhouse co-founder Louis Theroux, who serves as the company’s chief creative officer.

Wright said: “I wanted to meet the women that had suddenly taken over my social media feeds posting increasingly inflammatory content—girls my age with huge online platforms who seemed nostalgic for an era where women had less rights. It surprised me just how unapologetically controversial they were and despite living just a plane ride away, the views they promoted seemed worlds apart from me and my friends back home. It’s been fascinating to follow in the footsteps of my mentor, Louis Theroux, and to try and understand what drives behavior that, on the face of it, seems extreme.”

Arron Fellows, executive producer, commented: “It’s important to us all at Mindhouse to support young journalistic talent, and we are proud to be working alongside Layla on this documentary. There couldn’t be a more appropriate time to explore the female right in America and the effects that content being posted online is having on the real world.”

Tom Coveney, BBC commissioning editor, added: “With the proliferation of inflammatory opinions online and the rise of real-world extremism, it’s more important than ever to understand where these views are coming from and why they’re spreading. In this documentary, Layla Wright gives us a powerful insight into a surprising trend in America’s social media landscape: young women who are not only sharing extreme views but who are also often arguing against women having their own careers or even the right to vote.”