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Louis Theroux has a real knack for strolling into some of the weirdest, wildest niche subcultures on the planet and, with a uniquely charming brand of conviviality, getting them to open up in ways they never have before. It's a knack that makes him an endlessly watchable documentarian — so, it's no great wonder that, over the past 30 years, he's racked up an impressive catalogue of almost 100 BBC documentary titles to his name, from his early Weird Weekend days to his more recent in-depth celebrity interviews.
His latest doc, now on Netflix, seems to be one of his buzziest releases yet. Inside the Manosphere offers a glimpse into the rise of misogyny-fuelled male influencers. “What they believe is that society hates men,” Theroux told us. “Or that society has no time for weak men, and that men are going to be crushed unless they make themselves uncrushable and create an armour.”
In many ways, tackling this subculture feels like a natural move for Theroux. “Whether it's wrestling or gangster rap or the porn industry, these are worlds in which people perform versions of themselves. And often, they'll take a new name. With these men, it’s a similar thing,” he said, describing the “manosphere” as his "final boss”.
But before tackling his final boss, what other subcultures and groups did Theroux delve into? Here are our favourite Louis Theroux documentaries to date.
Meet the women featured in Inside the Manosphere.
Louis and the Nazis (2003)
One of Theroux's earlier documentaries, Louis and the Nazis, remains an unsettling watch. In the TV special, Theroux heads to California and spends time with Tom Metzger, an American neo-Nazi known for his racist views. A famously disturbing moment sees Theroux refusing to reveal whether or not he is Jewish. He also meets with Lynx and Lamb, 11-year-old twins who sing Nazi folk music.
Watch on the BBC.
The Most Hated Family in America (2007)
Theroux's 2007 TV episode documentary The Most Hated Family in America sees the documentarian spending time with the Phelps family in Kansas. Fred Phelps, leader of the Westboro Baptist Church, believed he was a prophet chosen by God to “preach his message of hate.” He was at the helm of a movement against the US government's tolerance of homosexuality. Infamously, the documentary includes clips of the Phelps family and members of their church protesting at the funerals of gay military service men with horrific, homophobic signs.
Watch on the BBC.
My Scientology Movie (2016)
Scientology has long fascinated journalists and documentarians — and for good reason. The strange church is known to be fiercely private about their dealings, almost always refusing to speak to anyone on the outside. Including Theroux. Ultimately, this documentary feature is one of his strangest. After the Church of Scientology starts filming Theroux and refusing to grant him access, Theroux instead hires actors to act out events that reportedly took place within the Scientology community. Part documentary, part speculation, it shows just how hazy the world of Scientology remains.
Louis Theroux: Savile (2016)
After the death of media personality Jimmy Savile in 2011, hundreds of sexual abuse accusations were finally investigated, and Savile was posthumously determined to have been a sexual predator and paedophile. Theroux previously met and interviewed Savile for the 2000 documentary When Louis Met Jimmy. During his encounter with Savile, Theroux exposes some hints of Savile's true character — but even though he brings up some of the pre-existing accusations, Savile coolly bats them away. In his follow-up 2016 documentary, Theroux reflects on how he himself and the wider public were all able to ignore accusations against Savile for so long.
Watch on the BBC.
A Different Brain (2016)
A painful, confronting watch, A Different Brain sees Theroux investigating what life with a brain injury is really like. Theroux visits the Brain Injury Rehabilitation Trust, and meets with people recovering from brain injuries and their friends and families to attempt to understand how relationships and life can change after an injury that impacts someone's memory, personality and behaviour. Heartbreakingly, this is ultimately a portrait of loved ones grieving for family members while they're still alive.
Watch on the BBC.
Louis Theroux takes on toxic masculinity in his latest Netflix documentary.
Surviving America's Most Hated Family (2019)
A follow-up to his 2007 film about the Phelps family, Surviving America's Most Hated Family and 2011's America's Most Hated Family in Crisis, 2019's Surviving America's Most Hated Family takes a different approach — instead of, once again, entering into the world of the Phelps family and the Westboro Baptist Church, this time, Theroux meets with former members of the church to find out: how easy is it to leave?
Louis Theroux’s Forbidden America: Extreme and Online (2022)
A sort of prequel to Theroux's latest Inside the Manosphere doc, Forbidden America: Extreme and Online delves into the dark underbelly of a new subculture where young people become fixated on far-right influencers and conspiracies online. What he finds is a world where racist, misogynistic, homophobic and anti-Semitic views run rampant, parcelled up and delivered in the most extreme ways for clicks. As in his manosphere documentary, Theroux occasionally finds himself being farmed for livestreaming content with iPhones turned on him in increasingly combative, tense moments.
Watch on the BBC.
The Settlers (2025)
In 2025, Theroux embarked on a journey to the West Bank to cover the rise of settlements that are often protected by the Israeli government despite being illegal under international law. Theroux explores the violence of the settlers against local Palestinians and how it has escalated since 2023. He also meets with the Palestinians who have been oppressed and targeted by Israeli settlers.
Watch on the BBC.
