Louis Theroux is returning once more with a new documentary series. Altered States will debut on BBC2, and will explore the ways people in United States deal with love, birth, and death.
The first episode, ‘Take My Baby’ will see the journalist and presenter examine the multi-million dollar adoption agency, as agencies and lawyers earn big money for matching couples with pregnant women willing to give up their newborn babies for upwards of $50,000.
The second episode, titled ‘Maximum Love’, chronicles the lives of people practicing polyamory and ethical non-monogamy in Portland, U.S, the capital of polyamory.
The final episode in Alter States will explore euthanasia in the six states where it is legal.
“For this series we looked at the new ways Americans are approaching some of humanity's oldest dilemmas: pregnant mums who feel unequipped to keep their babies and so pick new parents for them; the world of polyamory aka ‘ethical non-monogamy’; and people with debilitating conditions who opt to hasten their own deaths,” Theroux said in a statement.
“All of these stories have something a touch utopian about them, involving a kind of idealism and forward thinking that brings new opportunities but also new risks. I have been given extraordinary levels of access to courageous people and families across the United States, many of them enduring unbelievable levels of stress and anguish, and it was a privilege to be allowed into their lives in this most personal way.”
There’s no official release date just yet, but BBC2 teased that it’s coming “later this year”.
In the meantime, I’m going to amuse myself with the bot that continually tweets imaginary Louis Theroux documentary ideas.
