Just over a year ago, it was announced that Michael Chernus (Severance) had been cast to play serial killer John Wayne Gacy in the Peacock limited series Devil in Disguise, which is inspired by the 2021 Peacock docuseries John Wayne Gacy: Devil in Disguise, produced by NBC News Studios. Now, Peacock has revealed (via The Hollywood Reporter) their intention to release all eight episodes of the show on Thursday, October 16th – and along with the premiere date confirmation comes the unveiling of a teaser trailer for the show! You can watch the teaser in the embed above, and check out an image of Chernus in character as Gacy at the bottom of this article.
Chernus is joined in the cast by Gabriel Luna (The Last of Us), James Badge Dale (1923), Michael Angarano (Red State), Chris Sullivan (Mercy), and Marin Ireland (Hell or High Water). Luna plays Detective Rafael Tovar, Dale plays Chief of Detectives Joe Kozenczak, Angarano’s character is lawyer Sam Amirante, Sullivan is Lead Prosecutor Bill Kunkle, and Ireland takes on the role of Elizabeth Piest, whose 15-year-old son Robert was one of Gacy’s victims.
Here’s the official synopsis: From 1972-1978, 33 young men were kidnapped, murdered and buried in a crawl space beneath their killer’s house. And no one was the wiser. Not for all those years. Why? He was charming and funny. Had a good, All-American job. Was a community leader. He even volunteered to entertain sick kids … while dressed as a clown. Devil in Disguise: John Wayne Gacy peels back the twisted layers of Gacy’s life while weaving in heartrending stories of his victims; exploring the grief, guilt and trauma of their families and friends; and exposing the systemic failures, missed opportunities and societal prejudices that fueled his reign of terror.
Patrick Macmanus is writer and showrunner on Devil in Disguise and serves as an executive producer under his Littleton Road Productions banner. Kelly Funke of Littleton Road is also executive producing, alongside Noah Oppenheim and Liz Cole of NBC News Studios, plus Ashley Michel Hoban and Ahmadu Garba. UCP is producing.
When Chernus was cast, he provided the following statement: “I’m both excited and humbled by this opportunity. The direction that the writers are taking with this project is important, focusing on the victims and their families as well as those who finally brought John Wayne Gacy to justice. While Gacy was the perpetrator of these horrific crimes, I’m relieved that he won’t be the main focus of the series. It’s heartbreaking for me to think of what his victims (all young men and boys) could have done with their lives had the system not failed them so tragically. I believe in the power of storytelling and hope that by telling this story, in a thoughtful way, we can play some part in preventing this from ever happening again.“ He told Vanity Fair that he was initially hesitant to take on the role, because “Absolutely in no way did I want to be a part of something that was glorifying John Gacy. [In other true-crime series] the victims, if they’re named at all, only [appear] in their relation to the person who perpetrated the crimes.” Macmanus convinced him to take the role by assuring him, “Gacy’s not going to be at the center of this, so you won’t be in every scene.” And in fact, there are no murders shown in the series.
Are you interested in Devil in Disguise? Take a look at the teaser trailer and the image of Michael Chernus as John Wayne Gacy, then let us know by leaving a comment below.
The comment section exists to allow readers to discuss the article constructively and respectfully, focused on the topic at hand.
What’s Not Allowed