IF THERE’S A person you’d like to guide you through the world of the manosphere – that murky, misogyny-ridden part of the internet where men feel free to say things like ‘I don’t think women should vote’ – then it’s definitely Louis Theroux.

Since his early days hanging out with white supremacists and porn stars on his show Louis Theroux’s Weird Weekends, the now 55-year-old has shown that his faux-naive interview style is a great way of getting subjects to drop their guard. By being both a stand-in for the viewer and unafraid of embarrassing himself, Theroux is able to pose simple questions that lead to revealing answers.

Meet the manosphere

In his latest documentary, a 90-minute feature that’s also his first such work for streamer Netflix, Theroux has chosen to focus on several key figures from the manosphere.

These are work-hard-play-hard-gym-hard types, like Harrison Sullivan (AKA HS Tikky Tokky), who when Theroux meets him is hawking trading platforms to followers; Myron Gaines, whose beliefs could charitably be called ‘ultra-regressive’; Nicolas Kenn De Balinthazy (AKA Sneako), who has been banned from multiple social media platforms; and Justin Waller, who believes in one-way non-monogamy (guess which way).

These men have grossly unformed ideas about masculinity, which they push to their followers via almost constant live-streaming and a patter that is light on substance but high in bravado.

Because Theroux is male, he’s allowed into these men’s worlds in a way that a female documentarian never would. That doesn’t mean Theroux escapes being criticised, but the criticism is generally light (he’s ‘as soft as a pillow’, apparently) compared to the abject views the men share on camera about women in their company. (That said, his past documentary about Jimmy Saville is weaponised.)

(L to R) Nico Balinthazy (Sneako), Louis Theroux. Netflix Netflix

If you’re looking for an in-depth discussion about the manosphere and its impact, Inside the Manosphere is not where you’ll get it. Some knowledge of the issues being discussed is assumed, which isn’t much of a reach given that – as Theroux points out – parts of the manosphere have gone terrifyingly mainstream. Donald Trump, for example, did interviews with manosphere podcasters as part of his presidential campaign.

Instead, Theroux lets the drama unfold so we can witness the sorts of lives these men lead. We’re able to make up our mind about what we’re seeing, though you’d hope for humanity that the average viewer sees right through the wafer-thin masculinity these men claim they’re upholding. 

Meeting his limit?

Theroux’s at his best when he’s wandering around following his interview subjects, allowing them to lead themselves over the proverbial cliff. There’s plenty of that here. But does he meet his limit in this documentary?

One issue is that he’s dealing with men who are not only used to performing, but performing on camera. They can try to outwit him – as HS Tikky Tokky tries – by filming him while he’s filming them, creating a hall of mirrors where the winner is the one who can package up their ‘take’ on what happened the quickest. Theroux, then, can never quite win this round. 

Though this presents a challenge, the best parts of the programme are when he gently probes into the men’s personal lives and how these reflect their ideals. The hypocrisy and misogyny is revealed for what it is. These men get annoyed if they feel Theroux is probing too far, even if they claim they’re doing nothing wrong. 

Theroux only pushes the men so far on their beliefs, but he does show us that these fellas fear being seen as toxic while also being inherently toxic.

For example, a major part of the doc sees Theroux taking part in a live recording of Gaines’ podcast Fresh and Fit, where female contributors are undermined over their presumed lack of intelligence. Yet Gaines seems edgy about Theroux’s presence at the recording studio. It’s a curious mix of withholding and showing off.

Analysis

Theroux allows the men to mostly speak for themselves, and there’s only an attempt at putting some form of thesis together at the end of the documentary. Sometimes it feels like Theroux’s pudding needs more eggs, like when he says Fresh and Fit reflects a ‘reductive take on gender relations’. You’re kidding! It’s not exactly hard-hitting criticism, even though it’s clear Theroux does not condone it in any way.

The analysis on this show is light, leaving the audience to do most of the work. This is often Theroux’s approach and it can be effective. When we are faced with someone doing something strange or weird, we must confront our own biases about them. The more complex the picture, arguably the better. But it would have been great to see a little more overt analysis done here. 

(L to R) Justin Waller, Louis Theroux, in Louis Theroux: Inside the Manosphere. Cr. Courtesy of Netflix © 2026

Chilling moment

When Theroux does some analysis of the psychological make-up of his interview subjects, he hits on some astute points which deserve more coverage – like the noxious Andrew Tate being “ass kicked” by his father and Harrison Sullivan being raised without his father in his life.

It’s still hard to find a modicum of sympathy for them, most particularly someone like Sneako, whose opinions are so distasteful they’d make you nauseous. A particularly chilling moment is when Sneako is cheered on by fans he bumps into on the street, which highlights how much reach he has. Lest we forget, this man does not believe women should have the vote, and that’s just for starters. Do the people in his young fans’ lives know they are sympathetic to his beliefs?

Inside the Manosphere raises many urgent questions about the manosphere and its impact. If you don’t know anything about this world, it’ll be quite the shock to view.

But by the end, it feels more like a comma than a full stop. There’s so much more to be said here, and Theroux – try as he might – can only barely scrape the surface in a 90-minute programme.

What he does show us, though, is unrelentingly bleak and important to watch. Inside the Manosphere is certainly worth watching alright, even if it leaves you hungry for a deeper analysis of these men and their impact.