‘Devil in Disguise: John Wayne Gacy’ Took a Different Approach to True Crime — and Didn’t Show a Single Murder

True crime is one of the most popular TV genres of the 2020s, but it has also become one of the most controversial. For every blockbuster streaming series about a notorious serial killer, there’s a discussion to be had about whether anyone is benefitting from gruesome TV portrayals that some feel glamorize killers and exploit their victims.

But “Devil in Disguise: John Wayne Gacy” took a dramatically different approach that put the victims first. UCP’s limited series, which stars Michael Chernus as the infamous Chicago-based killer, makes a point not to show any of his worst crimes. It’s a tasteful approach that ultimately shines more light on the human systems that failed Gacy’s victims than the logistics of his methods. Yet it never fails to be gripping enough to entertain the most seasoned true crime fans.

That delicate balance was the focus of a recent USG University panel moderated by IndieWire. The conversation featured “Devil in Disguise” creator and showrunner Patrick Macmanus, star Michael Chernus, production designer Rory Cheyne, and composers Leopold Ross and Nick Chuba. And the panel made it clear that the mandate to make a victim-focused true crime series trickled down to every single department.

“What I am very proud of, of everyone who has been a part of this show, is that we all understood what the mission was,” Macmanus said. “Which was not just to do it differently, but to pay respect to the victims and their histories. We didn’t show a single murder on screen, we didn’t any acts of violence on screen, and yet I think we still had that true crime velocity that people come to expect while also doing something different.”

Watch the complete conversation with the “Devil in Disguise: John Wayne Gacy” team in the video above.

“Devil in Disguise: John Wayne Gacy” is produced by Universal Content Productions, a division of Universal Studio Group. It is now streaming exclusively on Peacock.