Telemarketers

Telemarketers

A passion project that uses 20 years worth of of evidence to expose the charity telemarketing scam

7.3

TV Show

United States of America
English
Documentary
2023
Pat Pespas, Sam Lipman-Stern

TL;DR

And yet... telemarketing still exists.

What it's about

Telemarketers is a darkly comedic docuseries that follows two unlikely office buddies on a 20-year quest to expose the crooked American telemarketing industry.

The take

Self-proclaimed scumbag Sam Lipman-Stern opens the series by explaining how long he's wanted to make a documentary on the telemarketing company Civil Development Group (CDG). What follows is a massive deep dive into how the CDG used lies and a happy-go-lucky/free-for-all work environment to scam everyday people out of money for a non-existent charity. The first episode covers much of CDG's background with footage of the dysfunctional office and its rowdy (mostly high and drunk) workers who manage to get their work done. The tone is somewhat jovial as you watch these people reminisce on having fun despite the lawsuits, changing scripts, and constant calls. But as it draws to a close, with Lipman-Stern and Pespas determined to bring down the telemarketer industry, we're left with a warning that CDG isn't their biggest villain. 

What stands out

Even though the offices of CDG seem like fun and games, the employees appear to be aware of how exploitative their jobs are. They’re forced to meet quotas and become modern slaves because unemployment isn’t an option when you have bills to pay, dependents to look after, and parole officers to pacify.

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