Telemarketers, the new HBO Max three part docuseries has already become thrill coaster for summer television.
Telemarketers is based on footage from Sam Lipman-Stern, who began filming as a New Jersey teenager in the early 2000s while working as a telemarketer at Civic Development Group, a shadowy company that hired teens, ex-cons, and addicts to solicit money on behalf of various organizations, primarily state lodges of the Fraternal Order of Police.
Lipman-Stern began shooting workplace pranks, but his aim quickly grew into an investigation into who and what he was raising money for. Patrick J. Pespas, a former heroin addict and death metal rocker who becomes involved in the probe, becomes his companion in this investigation.
Co-directors Lipman-Stern and Bhala Lough spoke to Variety about the docuseries and the impact they think it would have.
“My hope is that after seeing this, people will be like “Grandma, I saw this show on HBO and you shouldn’t be giving to those places anymore.” That’s the simple act of educating. I think reaching a large swath of people through entertainment is more powerful than some local news report that has been done ad infinitum in the past and never really made a dent.” says Lough.
“Hopefully, this story can help that money go to actual good causes,” added Lipman-Stern.
Telemarketers is available to stream on Max.
