Infamous serial killer John Wayne Gacy gets his own series on Peacock

America’s unforgettable serial killers have been well documented on TV, and now John Wayne Gacy will be the focal point of Peacock’s newest limited series with an actor already tapped for the lead role.

From the Night Stalker to Dahmer – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story, serial killers are a morbid curiosity people can’t escape. First reported by ComicBook, Peacock has officially announced a new series titled Devil in Disguise: John Wayne Gacy.

The new limited series, which stars Severance’s Michael Chernus as Gacy, was inspired by Peacock’s similarly-titled docuseries John Wayne Gacy: Devil in Disguise.

Gacy gained infamy in the 70s as a heinous serial killer who targeted young boys under the guise of a normal family man who worked as a clown named Pogo. Devil in Disguise catalogs the years that Gacy went unnoticed by authorities as 33 young boys disappeared, whose remains were eventually discovered in the crawl space of the killer’s home.

“Devil In Disguise: John Wayne Gacy peels back the twisted layers of Gacy’s life while weaving in heartrending stories of his mostly gay 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,” described Peacock.

Though dramatizations about serial killers have been increasingly popular, they haven’t been released without controversy. Netflix’s Dahmer received immense backlash, with some accusing the show of glorifying the killer.

The series was also scrutinized for changing the details of the victims’ stories and not receiving permission from surviving family members.

However, Chernus assured fans the Peacock series is different.

“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,” said the actor in a statement.

“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.”

Patrick Macmanus will serve as the showrunner, writer, and executive producer for John Wayne Gacy: Devil in Disguise, which has no official release date.

While waiting for the new limited series, you can check out our coverage on Robert Pattinson starring in a remake of a hit 80s horror movie, the Netflix horror movie Stephen King is excited about, and new shows to stream this month.