The past few years have seen some of the best true crime documentaries of all time, and that’s especially true for the rollout of HBO-produced original films and series. Multi-part explorations of sinister serial killers, hilarious and informative chronicles of fast food frauds, and just about everything else under the “true crime” umbrella has been covered in great detail, one way or another.
Now there’s a new multi-part documentary available to anyone with a Max subscription, or those who still prefer to watch HBO the old-fashioned way. This docuseries, titled Telemarketers, premiered in August 2023, and introduced viewers to one of the most absurd and widespread scams in modern history, and a group of former call-center workers who set out to take down their former employer.
Here are five things you should know before you watch Telemarketers…
Telemarketers Follows Two Former Coworkers As They Attempt To Expose An Entire Industry
If you’re in the mood to check out a documentary where two former call center workers attempt to bring down an industry that has collected hundreds of millions of dollars from people over the course of the past few decades, then Telemarketers is going to do the trick. The documentary follows Patrick J. Pespas and Sam Lipman-Stern (who also co-directs alongside Adam Bhala Lough) as they set out to expose not only their former employer – Civic Development Group – but everyone else involved in a scheme that preys on people for their money in the name of charity.
The Docuseries Features Extensive Footage Captured From Within Civic Development Group And Interviews With Former Employees
Telemarketers also features a massive amount of footage captured by Lipman-Stern while he was working at Civic Development Group throughout the 2000s and early 2010s. These videos, which were at one time on YouTube, are less like undercover videos to capture nefarious acts and more a video diary of what Lipman-Stern’s life was like at the time.
Many of the people featured in the old videos are also shown in present-day interviews where they talk about working for the company, their thoughts on the work they were doing, and how they felt like one big family.
Investigative Journalism With Humor
The best way to describe the tone of Telemarketers is to compare it to Michael Moore’s various documentaries (Pespas even acknowledges this at one point) like Roger & Me, The Big One, and most famously, Bowling for Columbine. The documentary blends investigative journalism with humor that pushes the envelope, even by HBO’s standards to create an experience that will leave you shaking your head in disbelief one moment and slapping your knees the next.
The Docuseries Is Split Into Three Episodes; The First Is Available Now
Telemarketers is split into three episodes, with the first becoming available on Sunday, August 13th. The second and third parts of the docuseries will be released August 20th and August 27th, respectively. The lengths of the later episodes have not been revealed at time of this writing, but the first chapter was around an hour long, give or take.
Telemarketers Is Rated TV-MA For Language And Drug Use
Telemarketers is Rated TV-MA and it doesn’t take too long to figure out why. Not long into the documentary, you will see call center employees doing coke, nodding off after doing heroin, and so many other things while on the job. The language, which should come as no surprise, is also extreme, and no one really holds back when it comes to throwing around certain four-letter words.
If this sounds like something that interests you, check out the first episode and see what you think. And don’t forget to check out all the other shows coming to HBO (and Max) in the final months of the 2023 TV schedule.
