Louis Theroux: Dark States - Everything you need to know about the documentary-maker’s new BBC series

The series sees Theroux head to troubled US cities 
New series: Theroux will investigate crime epidemics in three different US cities
BBC

Louis Theroux is back with a three-part treat for his many loyal fans. Never one to shy away from a gritty underbelly his new series Dark States see him dive head first into human crises in three different US cities.

Here’s everything you need to know.

What’s it about?

The series sees Theroux tackle issues devastating three American cities, murder in Milwaukee, sex trafficking in Houston, and heroin in Huntington, West Virginia.

The documentary-maker will travel to each, getting to know communities in his own inimitable style.

In a statement, he explained he has tried to get to know the crimes that take place in each area in both a 'systemic' and a 'personal way'.

“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,” he said.

What happens in episode one?

First up is Huntington, West Virginia where Theroux is on the trail of opiate addicts left desperate following a crackdown on prescription painkillers.

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The recent scarcity of the once freely available drugs has caused many dependents to turn to harder substances, with heroin chief among them.

And with the drug now claiming more lives per year in the US than car accidents and gun crime, what was a widespread problem is fast becoming an epidemic.

In Huntingon, Theroux heads to an Appalachian community that has been devastated by heroin use, with one in 10 babies in the region born opiate dependent and the fatal overdose rate standing at 13 times the national average.

Who is Louis Theroux?

Theroux is one of the UK’s best-known documentary filmmakers.

He has previously explained that he’s ‘drawn to the dark side, the strange’, as such many of his programmes focus on those who are involved in crime, behind bars or who exhibit behaviours that stretch the definition of normality.

His works have covered issues that range from plastic surgery addiction to scientology.

Louis Theroux: Dark Starts begins on Sunday, October 8 at 9pm on BBC Two.

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