New serial killer thriller series now available to stream at home

Based on true events, the show holds a 96% Rotten Tomatoes score.

Based on true events, the series sees Severance star Michael Chernus play John Wayne Gacy, the American serial killer who murdered at least 33 young men and boys between 1972 and 1978.

He became known as the "Killer Clown" due to his voluntary public service as a clown before the discovery of his crimes.

Accessible through the RTÉ Player, the plot synopsis for Devil in Disguise reads:

"When teenager Rob Piest (Ryker Baloun) goes missing in the Chicago area, the prime suspect is revealed to be an affable and well-liked local businessman named John Wayne Gacy (Chernus).

"As officers tail, interrogate and eventually arrest Gacy, it becomes clear to the Des Plaines Police Department that the young man is just one of many who have disappeared at his hands.

"Lieutenant Joe Kozenczak (James Badge Dale, The Empty Man) and Detective Rafael Tovar (Gabriel Luna, The Last of Us) lead the investigation that uncovers the remains of 32 young men and boys Gacy murdered, as well as the holes in the system that allowed Gacy to evade detection and capture for more than seven years.

"Meanwhile, a rivalry ensues between Gacy's lead defense lawyer, Sam Amirante (Michael Angarano, Horizon), and the local prosecutor, William Kunkle (Chris Sullivan, The Drop) as the former tries to prevent Gacy's execution while the families attempt to understand how and why their sons were taken from them."

Also co-starring Augustus Prew (High-Rise) and Marin Ireland (Dope Thief), Devil in Disguise earned rave reviews upon its release in the States last October.

Holding a near-perfect 96% Rotten Tomatoes score, critics praised the show for shifting the focus away from Gacy, instead focusing on his victims and the investigation that brought the serial killer to justice.

You can read a sample of these glowing write-ups below:

The Age: Australia: "You don’t witness the many murders of Gacy (Michael Chernus), but you get a sense of his victims and the immense pain left in Gacy’s wake. I appreciated the care and professionalism."

The Daily Beast: "As considerate as such ventures get. Even with regards to its fiend, it proves more interested in understanding his madness than deriving boogeyman scares from it."

The Hollywood Reporter: "I respect a serial killer drama that's this willing to eschew exploitative shock and simple answers in favour of sadness and weariness."

Los Angeles Times: "It tells a compelling story about one of the darkest chapters in America’s crime archives."

Salon.com: "Such a measured approach enables the real people still connected to the story to retain their humanity and dignity."

Variety: "There's a well-articulated sense of why we're revisiting one of the most picked-over, thoroughly covered killing sprees of the 20th century, and what the series wants to say about the people and events it depicts."

All eight episodes of Devil in Disguise: John Wayne Gacy are streaming on the RTÉ Player now.