Morgan Spurlock has earned quite a reputation for unconventional investigative documentary making. Since famously gorging himself for a month straight on Double Quarter Pounders with cheese and super-size fries, Spurlock has been busy exploring various other idiosyncrasies of American culture. Already this year the Oscar-nominee has delved into the obsessive, Mountain Dew fueled ranks of nerddom with his recent film Comic-Con Episode IV: A Fan’s Hope , and confronted the ambivalent meaning of contemporary masculinity with Mansome , which premiered in April.
CNN announced today that Spurlock will be returning to television this spring to host a new original series called Inside Man . Having created and hosted the acclaimed FX series 30 Days , as well as the Hulu exclusive A Day in the Life and the Yahoo web series Failure Club , it seems Spurlock’s return to television will be a continuation of his masterful ability to explore ordinary lives in new and interesting ways.
Joining a new weekend lineup alongside Anthony Bourdain’s still unnamed forthcoming food and travel show, Inside Man is part of CNN’s attempt to spice up its programming. The new series will be hosted by Spurlock and produced by his own New York-based Warrior Poets. According to CNN, each episode “will provide an insider’s view into rarely-seen sectors of American life that include gun lovers, marijuana growers, migrant farm workers, and end-of-life caregivers.”
If Inside Man is anything like 30 Days, there’s a lot here to look forward to. Spurlock has never been shy about broaching controversial stories, from a backcountry homophobe living in San Francisco’s Castro District to a devout West Virginian Christian transplanted into a Muslim community. Documenting the subtly fascinating, touching, and at times troubling facets of society is what reality TV should be about.
Inside Man is scheduled to premiere April 2013 on CNN.
[via Cinema Blend]