Louis Theroux: Life on the Edge to Bow on BBC Two

BBC Two is set to premiere the tentatively titled Louis Theroux: Life on the Edge, a four-part series from Mindhouse Productions that will look back at the filmmaker’s body of work that spans 25 years.

The series will feature interviews with Theroux, as well as new conversations between him and some of his most notable contributors, many of whose stories have since unfolded in unexpected ways. Theroux has also delved into his own home movie footage and news archive to tell stories about human psychology, the many ways in which people behave or deal with adversity and how the world has changed over the last three decades.

Theroux, who has become synonymous with documentaries involving subcultures, people on the fringes of society, those who engage in life-endangering lifestyle choices and subjects who live with mental health issues, has been behind more than 60 hours of distinctive and celebrated docs on British TV.

Theroux said: “For years I’ve wanted to go back and make sense of the programs I’ve made, find out what happened to some of the contributors, update their stories, and see what all these many hours of making TV might add up to. Lockdown gave me the time and space to do this. It’s been a strange and fascinating couple of months working on this, and especially fun to dig through old episodes of Weird Weekends—programs I made in the mid-nineties when the world was a very different place. I’m really proud of what we’ve been able to do with this new series. I think we’ve been able to make the whole add up to more than the sum of the parts and to bring out surprising themes and commonalities. And, if nothing else, it was an interesting review of how my haircuts and glasses have changed over the years.”

Emma Loach, commissioning editor at BBC Two, said: “Underpinning Louis’ journalism is a personal touch to his documentaries—an ability, using humor, to get past people’s outer layers and to discover their underlying vulnerability, grief and humanity. This personal, introspective series will allow viewers to see Louis as they’ve never seen him before as he reflects on his fascinating and varied career.”