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Louis Theroux's Weird Weekends - Episode Guide

Season 1

Televangelists

Episode: 1x01 | Airdate: Jan 15, 1998

Televangelists

Louis travels to Dallas, at the heart of the American bible belt. There, born-again Christian evangelists offer to have him saved for the Lord as the highlight of a live TV show.

UFOs

Episode: 1x02 | Airdate: Jan 22, 1998

UFOs

Louis Theroux continues his journey through the fringes of American society, visiting the deserts of the south west where UFO sightings are often reported.

Porn

Episode: 1x03 | Airdate: Jan 29, 1998

Porn

Louis Theroux investigates the world of the male porn performer. With his finely-honed physique and classy English accent, he doesn't have to wait long before landing his first part, playing the all-important part of park ranger.

Survivalists

Episode: 1x04 | Airdate: Feb 5, 1998

Survivalists

In Idaho, Louis meets right-wing patriots and militia enthusiasts who are preparing for what they believe is inevitable global catastrophe.

Season 2

Infomercials

Episode: 2x01 | Airdate: May 12, 1999

Infomercials

Louis Theroux explores the weirder fringes of American society. Theroux tries his persuasive selling skills on the Home Shopping Network in Florida, a television channel devoted to non-stop, around-the-clock selling. He enters a world of inventors, pitchmen and visionaries, all obsessed with making their product the next big thing.

Swingers

Episode: 2x02 | Airdate: May 26, 1999

Swingers

Louis Theroux continues his exploration of the fringes of American society. He visits Southern California, home to a group of people known as swingers. There he meets Gary and Margaret Lee who host parties at their home but only for swinger couples, so Louis goes searching for a date.

Black Nationalism

Episode: 2x03 | Airdate: Jun 2, 1999

Black Nationalism

Louis Theroux travels to New York, the epicentre of the radical black nationalist movement, to meet proponents of black nationalism. American black nationalist groups have been branded anti-Semitic, homophobic, misogynist and even racist by the mainstream press. As he follows their work, he tries to separate myth from reality and wonders whether he will be welcomed.

Demolition Derby

Episode: 2x04 | Airdate: Jun 9, 1999

Demolition Derby

This week, Louis Theroux tries to infiltrate Michigan's demolition derby industry and drive in a race himself. He seeks advice from drivers Jon Lipka and Rick Arnold and cousins Kevin and Steve Hanna, who find him a car and get him ready for his first competition. But after seeing them in action, Theroux begins to wonder if he is up to the challenge.

Off-Off Broadway

Episode: 2x05 | Airdate: Jun 15, 1999

Off-Off Broadway

Louis Theroux spends time in New York among the subculture of off-Broadway performers in his latest foray into the weirder fringes of American society. Only a small proportion of actors make a decent living and Louis soon finds himself struggling to get work alongside the thousands of out-of-work actors. To improve his chances he joins a talent grooming agency, puts together a portfolio and has acting and voice coaching lessons. But as he discovers, an actor's lot is not an easy one.

Wrestling

Episode: 2x06 | Airdate: Jul 6, 1999

Wrestling

In his final challenge, Louis Theroux investigates the most extreme American wrestling organisations. He hangs out with the WCW wrestlers of Monday Night Nitro and considers joining the Independent Wrestling Federation, who use barbed wire to spice up their shows.

Season 3

Self-Fulfilment

Episode: 3x01 | Airdate: Sep 25, 2000

Self-Fulfilment

Louis Theroux explores weirder fringes of society, arriving in Las Vegas on the trail of personal motivators who claim to be able to use hypnosis to help people's relationships with the opposite sex.

Indian Gurus

Episode: 3x02 | Airdate: Oct 2, 2000

Indian Gurus

Louis Theroux explores the weirder fringes of society, travelling to India, land of spirituality, where he hopes to find the meaning of life.

Boer Separatists

Episode: 3x03 | Airdate: Oct 9, 2000

Boer Separatists

Louis Theroux continues his exploration of the weirder fringes of society. He visits whites-only communities in South Africa that are refusing to accept the end of Apartheid and also meets white supremacist Eugene Terreblanche.

Body-Building

Episode: 3x04 | Airdate: Oct 16, 2000

Body-Building

Louis Theroux continues to explore the weirder fringes of society. He travels to California, home of the body beautiful, to see if he can join the world of extreme body building.

Looking for Love

Episode: 3x05 | Airdate: Oct 23, 2000

Looking for Love

Louis Theroux's continued exploration of the weirder fringes of society takes him to to Bangkok, where he has an appointment at a marriage agency where Western men are introduced to Thai brides. He begins to wonder if love is what these men are really looking for.

Gangsta Rap

Episode: 3x06 | Airdate: Oct 30, 2000

Gangsta Rap

Louis Theroux continues to explore the weirder fringes of society, travelling to New Orleans in the hope of becoming the first white, middle-class gangsta rapper. He meets up with rapper Mellow T and interviews Master P before penning his own rhymes about his love of red wine, his Fiat car and Shepherd's Bush.

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