From Weird Weekends to Porn's MeToo: Louis Theroux, performance, and the shifting politics of television documentary

This article examines the evolution of Louis Theroux's performative style over a 25-year period, situating it within broader shifts in documentary aesthetics, ethics, and industrial context. Focusing on three case studies (Weird Weekends: Porn (1998), Twilight of the Porn Stars (2012), and Porn's MeToo (2022)), it traces his transformation from ironic and disarming participant to emotionally engaged and ethically reflexive interlocutor. The discussion draws on established frameworks for understanding documentary modes, performance, and presenter-led authorship to explore how Theroux's persona operates as both narrative device and ethical agent. Through contextual analysis and close textual reading, the article examines how his authorship is materially realised at the level of shot composition, editorial rhythm, and on-screen embodiment. These developments are set against major industrial changes, including the shift from public service broadcasting to streaming platforms, the rise of branded factual content, and the growing demand for emotionally resonant, socially conscious storytelling. The article argues that Theroux's trajectory reflects a wider reconfiguration of documentary authorship in the platform era, one that requires filmmakers to balance visibility and restraint, authority and care, while contributing to debates about performance, ethics, and the evolving role of the presenter in contemporary factual television.