What is HBO’s Telemarketers all about? Release date, plot, and more

The eagerly awaited three-part documentary, Telemarketers, is all set to premiere on Sunday, August 13, 2023, on HBO.

The documentary entails the story of one of the top telemarketing fundraising companies in America, namely the Civic Development Group (CDG), which was revealed to be the mastermind of a massive consumer fraud scam.

The company, whose objective in society had been to raise funds for veterans, police and firemen organizations, and charities, was exposed to have been holding back at least 90% of the funds which went straight to their profits.

However, what makes this particular event even more interesting is that the scam was exposed by Pat Pespas and Sam Lipman-Stern, two telemarketers at the CDG who stumbled upon the truth about the organization they worked at and were since then committed to revealing the truth to the nation.

Sam Lipman-Stern and Pat Pespas during their telemarketing days (Image via HBO)

Interestingly enough, it is through Pat and Sam's perspective that the documentary would be narrated. They take viewers through the facts and evidence that led them to believe that the organization was corrupt and how they sought to reveal that.

In doing so, the documentary will also explore the telemarketing culture of the time and how such organizations still exist in modern-day America.

The official synopsis of Telemarketers, as per Rotten Tomatoes, reads:

"The unexpected 20-year journey of two unlikely office buddies, who stumble upon the truth behind the work they've been doing at a seedy call center, persuading people to give money to charities, and vow to expose the American telemarketing industry."

The series is directed by Adam Bhala Lough and Sam Lipman Stern, with Nnacy Abraham, Dani Bernfied, Josh Safdie, Greg Stewart, Jody Hill, and David Gordon Green acting as the executive producers.

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Telemarketers promises to be an insightful and thrilling look into the billion-dollar scam

The trailer for Telemarketers manages to capture the viewers' attention from the offset as it shows a telemarketer making a call and giving an aggressive sales pitch, claiming that the funds will be going to charity.

An obvious lie, the snippet sets the tone for the entire documentary, which promises to be an investigative look at the fraudulent system.

The most intriguing part about the trailer is that it exposes the reality of the telemarketing industry by using real archival footage of the inside of the call center. This footage was shot by Sam Lipman-Stern during his days on the job.

The footage not only reveals the various characters that used to work at the call center, but it also brings to light the sad reality that people were willing to do whatever it took to make ends meet, even if it meant scamming people.

Workers playing games during their shift (Image via HBO)

In an interview with New York Times, when asked why he would want to film the surroundings and the people at the CDG, Sam commented:

"You know, the company had this really interesting mix of characters — some teenagers like me, but also ex-convicts, drug dealers, and —— It was a job that you could get if, you know, you had trouble getting a job. So there were a lot of characters there. Everybody seemed to have issues. Including myself."

He continued,

"But I think what motivated me to film first were the people. You couldn’t write these characters. And then the fact that we were all raising money for police organizations … that made it even more interesting."

Telemarketers also shows how Sam and Pat fought against these unethical practices and struggled to expose the business model. While the duo had initially been hesitant about wanting to expose the system, their knowledge of the damage that the organization was inflicting upon the various protected classes in society would not let them continue.

Their struggles in exposing the CDG, including how they secretly recorded the calls and reached out to media outlets, will be covered in the documentary.

With a closer look at topics of capitalism and greed, Telemarketers promises to be a thoroughly enticing watch that will keep viewers hooked from start to finish.

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Telemarketers premieres on HBO on Sunday, August 13, 2023.