The result is a haunting series that emphasizes the humanity of the victims and the loss they experienced to their loved ones and the world. .... The show is also very clear about who’s at fault. Of course, primarily, it’s John Wayne Gacy, played by a phenomenal Michael Chernus.

Macmanus expertly weaves in how Gacy was brought to justice and highlights both the dogged determination of those involved with the law — detective Rafael Tover (Gabriel Luna) and prosecutor Bill Kunkle (Chris Sullivan) — as well as how the system failed to stop Gacy before. It adds depth and context, but it is the overwhelming sadness over how Gacy robbed these boys and young men of their futures that hits the hardest.

Devil in Disguise makes a lot of unexpected choices that set it apart both from the Monster franchise and typical true-crime genre fare.

The series’ pacing is uneven in spots and its messaging about media and law enforcement’s bias against the lifestyles of Gacy’s victims can feel a bit repetitive, but overall it tells a compelling story about one of the darkest chapters in America’s crime archives.

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. That quality is missing from so much true crime it’s worth praising, whatever flaws emerge in the telling.

It isn’t completely effective, but it’s substantive and avoids sensationalizing one of the most sensational cases of the 20th century. I’d call it “bordering on worthwhile” in a genre too oversaturated for anything to be “necessary.” Some bloodthirsty audiences will call it “dull.”

This is not feel-good television or easy watching after a long day at work. This is challenging, distressing and harrowing storytelling about some of the worst things humanity has ever witnessed. But like so many similar shows in the genre, "Devil" can't transcend beyond a rehash of the facts.