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‘Sometimes, when you’re dealing with people in telly, everything takes a lot of explanation,’ says Jamali Maddix, the Ilford-born Londoner who made a name for himself on Vice, Taskmaster and the Never Mind the Buzzcocks reboot.
‘It’s hard for them to see your mind’s eye, right? But Louis Theroux has been around for fucking years. There’s a thing where not a lot of explanation needs to be made. He sees it. You can just get right to it.’
Maddix’s new series, Follow The Leader, is a new four-part docu-series on U&Dave made with Theroux’s production company. A similar ilk to Maddix’s nervy face offs on Vice TV’s ‘Hate Thy Neighbor’ 2021 series, the show sees the stand-up travelling across the US and South America to interrogate those on the sidelines of society – from paedophile hunters and ‘passport bros’ to Chicago’s most notorious gangs – with infectious charisma.
‘You know the mad guy at the pub?’ Maddix says, when asked why he’s so drawn to these outsider extremist groups. ‘I always want to know: why is he mad? What he’s saying is always interesting to me. I’ve always been interested in those things: it’s refreshing to see people with their mask off.’
And when it comes to pubs, Maddix is no stranger. Stay tuned for Jamali Maddix’s Time Out London cover to launch our best pubs list on November 5.
Jamali Maddix: Follow The Leader airs on U&Dave at 10pm each Tuesday until October 8, with the box-set available to stream free on U now.