Michael Chernus Portrays John Wayne Gacy in Peacock’s Devil in Disguise True-Crime Series

Michael Chernus, known for roles in Severance and Orange Is the New Black, takes on the chilling role of serial killer John Wayne Gacy in Peacock’s upcoming true-crime series Devil in Disguise: John Wayne Gacy. The eight-episode series premieres on Thursday, October 16, exclusively on Peacock.

Devil in Disguise is executive produced by showrunner Patrick Macmanus (Dr. Death, The Girl From Plainville) and features a strong ensemble cast including Gabriel Luna (The Last of Us), Michael Angarano (Oppenheimer), Chris Sullivan (This Is Us), and Marin Ireland (The Irishman).

The series delves deeply into the tragic stories of Gacy’s victims and the profound grief, guilt, and trauma experienced by their families while his horrific crimes went undetected for years. Unlike many true-crime adaptations, the show consciously avoids glorifying Gacy or depicting the murders on screen.

Chernus shared his initial hesitation about portraying Gacy, emphasizing his commitment to honoring the victims rather than sensationalizing the killer. Macmanus reassured him by focusing the narrative on the victims’ stories rather than Gacy himself.

The story covers the years 1972 to 1978, when Gacy kidnapped, murdered, and buried 33 young men in his home’s crawl space while maintaining a facade as a community leader and volunteer clown. Sentenced to death in 1980, Gacy was executed by lethal injection in 1994.

Devil in Disguise highlights systemic failures, missed opportunities, and societal prejudices that allowed Gacy’s crimes to continue for so long, offering a respectful and haunting examination of this dark chapter in American history. The series was filmed in Toronto under Universal Studio Group’s UCP banner.