Over 30 years ago, queer New York was not only facing AIDS and George H.W. Bush — they had a serial killer on their loose. Even worse, the police and larger public were largely ambivalent as homophobia ran rampant and the city was suffering through a crime wave.
Those heady days are chronicled in the upcoming, four-part HBO original docuseries Last Call: When a Serial Killer Stalked Queer New York, debuting July 9.
Directed by Anthony Caronna (Pride) and executive produced by Charlize Theron, Howard Gertler (HBO’s Oscar-nominated All the Beauty and the Bloodshed, How To Survive A Plague), and other notables, Last Call tells a story forgotten by many — and one that is, horrifically, being repeated three decades later.
Last Call is based on the award-winning book, Last Call: A True Story of Love, Lust and Murder in Queer New York by Elon Green.
The first episode of the docuseries focus on two closeted men murdered after visiting a piano bar. When response to the killings is muted, local activists demand action. The nonprofit Anti-Violence Project — still doing incredible work today — takes the lead in pushing for a police response. Meanwhile, more victims pile up.