The HBO Original four-part documentary series LAST CALL: WHEN A SERIAL KILLER STALKED QUEER NEW YORK from director Anthony Caronna (“Pride”) and executive producer Howard Gertler (HBO’s Oscar(R)-nominated “All the Beauty and the Bloodshed,” “How To Survive A Plague”) debuts SUNDAY, JULY 9 (9:00-10:00 p.m. ET/PT) on HBO and will be available to stream on Max, with new episodes debuting subsequent Sundays at the same time. Executive producers of the series include Charlize Theron, Liz Garbus, Dan Cogan, Jon Bardin, and Kate Barry, and it is a production of Story Syndicate (HBO’s “I’ll Be Gone In The Dark”), and based on the award-winning book “Last Call: A True Story of Love, Lust and Murder in Queer New York” by Elon Green.
SYNOPSIS
In the early 1990s, with homophobia and hate crimes on the rise as the AIDS crisis worsens, a serial killer preys upon gay men in New York City, infiltrating queer nightlife to find his victims. A gripping, investigative crime story, LAST CALL: WHEN A SERIAL KILLER STALKED QUEER NEW YORK also dives deeply into the prejudices and attitudes of the times, when deep-rooted biases in the criminal justice system and the media’s distorted public perception of the victims undermined the investigation and enabled a brutal killer to prey on a marginalized populace. The complexities of the closet, combined with a long-standing mistrust of law enforcement, further complicated the case. It also highlights the heroic efforts of activists, including the NYC Anti-Violence Project, to force law enforcement to recognize and protect the queer community.
Through exclusive archival and first-time interviews with activists, investigators, and family members, LAST CALL: WHEN A SERIAL KILLER STALKED QUEER NEW YORK illuminates how the LGBTQ+ community fought to solve the murders and demand fair treatment of queer crime victims. Their work remains relevant today.
Episode Descriptions:
- Episode 1
Debut date: SUNDAY, JULY 9 (9:00-10:00 p.m. p.m. ET/PT)
When a dismembered body is found in New Jersey in 1992, the crime scene poses striking similarities to a murder a year prior — a case that went cold. Both victims were affluent and closeted men, last seen at a piano bar in Manhattan. The Anti-Violence Project pushes the police to investigate a potential serial killer stalking gay men in New York City. - Episode 2
Debut date: SUNDAY, JULY 16 (9:00-10:00 p.m. p.m. ET/PT)
A third victim is part of the world of the queer community’s most vulnerable population: sex workers of color. While the AVP is pressuring the NYPD and media to connect the murders, another piece of evidence leads investigators to Staten Island. - Episode 3
Debut date: SUNDAY, JULY 23 (9:00-10:00 p.m. p.m. ET/PT)
A clear pattern of a serial killer emerges with a fourth murder, prompting the creation of a multi-jurisdictional task force and the first coverage from national newspapers. An eyewitness leads to a huge break: a potential name and description of the suspect. - Episode 4
Debut date: SUNDAY, JULY 30 (9:00-10:00 p.m. p.m. ET/PT)
A break in forensic technology leads investigators to a suspect: a nurse living on Staten Island. The next step is to decipher his past–a quest that takes them back almost 30 years to a murder in Maine–and to make sure he doesn’t evade justice. - Participants:
Crime scene investigators and law enforcement officers from multiple jurisdictions are joined on camera by Bea Hanson, Matt Foreman, and David Wertheimer, formerly of the NYC Anti-Violence Project, Marrero, Sakara, and Mulcahy family members, former lovers, friends, and associates of the victims.
HBO Documentary Films presents LAST CALL, a Story Syndicate Production in association with Little Punk, a Series by Anthony Caronna & Howard Gertler. Directed by Anthony Caronna; executive produced by Howard Gertler, Liz Garbus, Dan Cogan, Jon Bardin, Kate Barry, Anthony Caronna, Elon Green, Charlize Theron, Beth Kono, AJ Dix, and Matt Maher. Producers Yusef Alsuhaimi and Grace Fardella. For HBO: executive producers Nancy Abraham, Lisa Heller, and Tina Nguyen.
Debuts on HBO July 9th
