HOME / ENTERTAINMENT / TV

'John Wayne Gacy: Devil in Disguise': Release date, plot, trailer and all you need to know on Peacock docuseries

Peacock's first true-crime docuseries tells the chilling story of one of the world's most notorious serial killers told through the words of Gacy himself

BY NEETHA K

PUBLISHED MAR 10, 2021

It's not often a real-life clown could make even Pennywise shiver with fear, but John Wayne Gacy most definitely qualifies.

John Wayne Gacy was one of America's most notorious serial killers and sex offenders. He was more popularly called the "Killer Clown" as he would regularly perform at children's hospitals and charitable events as "Pogo the Clown" or "Patches the Clown." Gacy in his lifetime also assaulted and killed at least 33 young men and boys.

RELATED ARTICLES

America's deadliest serial killer John Wayne Gacy played real-life clown to get away with rape and murder of 33 young men

Technology helping law enforcement close cases more effectively now, says former detective

Gacy himself confessed that all the murders were committed inside his ranch house near Norridge, a village in Norwood Park Township in metropolitan Chicago. He would lure a victim to his home and dupe the victim into wearing handcuffs under the pretext of demonstrating a magic trick. Gacy would then rape and torture his captive and then kill him, either by asphyxiation or strangulation with a garrote.

True-crime television is dominating streaming television and NBC's streaming platform Peacock has decided to enter this arena of unscripted and true-crime programming with its docuseries, 'John Wayne Gacy: Devil in Disguise'. It will premiere on the platform this March. The series offers a comprehensive deep dive into the chilling investigation as told through the words of Gacy himself, and others who were affected by his crimes. Read on to know more details about the docuseries.

Release date

'John Wayne Gacy: Devil in Disguise' will be available to stream on Peacock on Thursday, March 25, at 12 AM PST. All six episodes of the docuseries will drop at once.

Plot

The official synopsis for 'John Wayne Gacy: Devil in Disguise' states: "The docuseries tells the chilling story of one of the world's most notorious serial killers told through the words of Gacy himself, those who were forever changed by his unspeakable deeds and those who believe that the full truth about the case remains concealed to this day."

Each episode includes video footage from an extensive prison interview of Gacy conducted in 1992, two years before he was executed. Responding to questions from a former FBI profiler, and consulting a massive "bible" of his own research on his case, he looks convincingly guileless as he blames his lawyers for what he calls a faulty insanity defense and claims to have "never met" any of the dismembered youngsters found in his crawl space.

The docuseries also includes old and new interviews with everyone from Gacy's sister and surviving victims to prosecutors Terry Sullivan and William Kunkle, as well as journalists Jay Levine and Larry Potash.

Producers

'John Wayne Gacy: Devil in Disguise' is executive produced by Rod Blackhurst along with Alexa Danner, Elizabeth Fischer, and Tracy Ullman, while Alison True served as an executive consultant.