Why Peacock’s Devil in Disguise focuses on victims instead of John Wayne Gacy’s crimes explained by star Michael Chernus

Peacock’s Devil in Disguise: John Wayne Gacy is a confident and intentional departure from the true crime formula.

While most dramatisations tend to sensationalise the violence of serial killers, this limited series brings the spotlight to those who endured the horrors left by Gacy.

Rather than reconstructing scenes of brutality, Devil in Disguise tells its narrative with empathy, highlighting the victims’ humanity and the waves of trauma experienced by their families. By removing graphic depictions of murder, Devil in Disguise urges its viewers to reconsider how crime narratives are constructed.

Each episode of Devil in Disguise focuses on one of Gacy’s victims, giving insight into their dreams, fears, and challenges. The series redirects its lens from Gacy’s notoriety to the lives he shattered, humanising them in a much more intimate way and recognising the systemic breakdowns that let those crimes go on for so long.

Why Peacock’s Devil in Disguise focuses on victims instead of John Wayne Gacy’s crimes

Michael Chernus, who plays John Wayne Gacy, told Us Weekly he was hesitant to accept the part at first, worried that the performance would glamorize the killer.

“[Showrunner] Patrick Macmanus told me this idea of focusing on the victims and telling their stories and shedding light."

According to Chernus, the intention was clear that the viewers should not walk away feeling sympathy for the murderer after watching Devil in Disguise.

“John Wayne Gacy is a part of the story because he has to be. But I only want people to learn about him in so much as it maybe helps us understand psychopathy and maybe in some small way a TV show could prevent something like this from happening in the future.”

Macmanus elaborated on the decision to centre the victims in Devil in Disguise, revealing that the writers’ room focused on depicting the victims’ inner lives, dreams, and social conditions.

“We were showing stories that showed people struggling with their identity, people struggling with their socioeconomic conditions, people struggling with parent issues. There are millions and millions and millions of people who have all of that in their lives and they don’t kill 33 people.”

John Wayne Gacy was born in Chicago in 1942 and lived a life of stability and normalcy before his crimes. He ran a handful of fast-food restaurants, was involved in his community, and occasionally entertained neighbours as a clown, a hobby that would later provide him with the chilling nickname “The Killer Clown.”

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EXCLUSIVE: As “Devil in Disguise: John Wayne Gacy” premieres this Thursday, Peacock is already developing a Season 2 centered on the notorious “Night Stalker,” aka Richard Ramirez.

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But behind this mask, he had a past of predatory actions. Gacy’s first known murder occurred in 1972. In the six years that followed, he murdered at least 33 young men and boys, many of whom were interred in the crawl space beneath his suburban Chicago residence.

His arrest in 1978 followed the disappearance of Robert Piest. Authorities found human remains on his land, resulting in Gacy’s confession and his subsequent conviction. He is among the most widely-investigated crimes in United States history, and there are still efforts underway to identify every one of his victims.

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